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THE 




Hand-book of Wyoming 



AND GUIDE TO THE 



ikek ffitts 




A GLIMPSE AT THE 

PROMINENT RESOURCES OF THE TERRITORY, WITH SPECIAL 

ARTICLES ON STOCK-RAISING, MINING, LUMBERING, 

AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURING, CLIMATE, 

SCENERY, GAME, FISH, ETC., 

AND FULL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE 

Big Horn, Black Hills and Yellowstone Regions, 

FOR CITIZEN, EMIGRANT AND TOURIST. 



By Robert E. Strahorn. 



CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 
1877. 




INIGHT & LEONARD, PRINTERS, CHICAGO. 



THE 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING 



AND GUIDE TO THE 



kt\ ]|tfb ami |)M( i^on\ ^[t^km 



CITIZEN, EMIGRANT AND TOURIST. 



By Kobert E. Strahorn ("Alter Ego"), 

Of the Western Press. 



. 






CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

1877. 



Copyright, 1877, 
By ROBERT E. STRAHORN. 



KKIOHT & LEONARD . I 

$2? 



&-/5? 



PEEFAOE 



A LITTLE more than sixty days ago the writer announced 
his intention of producing this work, and commenced the 
task of gathering statistics and placing them into the form now 
presented. A few promises were made in the prospectus first 
issued, and the kind-hearted and enterprising citizens who have 
assisted upon the strength of such collateral are respectfully 
asked to compare the result with the "good intentions." Inspec- 
tion and criticism are not invited, however, in the belief that the 
volume is devoid of errors or incongruities. In a field possessed 
of such grandeur and wonderfully varied interests as that pre- 
sented by Wyoming a year might well have been devoted to the 
creation of such a work ; and in stating that only one-sixth of 
that time has been applied, it will hardly be wondered that im- 
perfection may be admitted. In collecting, sifting and tabulating 
these statistics the writer has endeavored to be thoroughly con- 
scientious, and to accept only that from other hands which has 
been deemed thoroughly reliable. "When the reader remembers 
that there has been no similar work published here, that official 
statistics in so young a commonwealth are few and almost value- 
less, and that every department of our industry and resource is 
at least briefly touched upou, he can, in a measure, realize the 
amount of labor which has been bestowed. 

The writer cannot lose the opportunity here presented for 
thanking the Wyoming public generally — and a few of the Ter- 
ritory's best citizens more particularly — for the substantial favors 
and unvarying kindness extended him. For most valuable per- 
sonal favors received from Mr. E. A. Slack, of the Cheyenne Daily 
Sun ; Dr. George W. Corey and Judge D. McLaughlin, of Chey- 
enne; Col. Stephen W. Downey and Dr. J. A. Hayford, of Lara- 
mie City; A. Mcintosh, Esq., of Green Eiver City, and Homer 
Merrell, Esq., of Rawlins, he is deeply grateful. 

Cheyenne, Wyoming, July 20, 1877. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Father De Smet and the Aboriginal Miner 15 

" The Wyoming of the Future " 23 

The " Round Up " — "Cutting out Cattle " 33 

" Bound for the Mines — The First Coach " 57 

A Simple Question of Priority 65 

11 Getting out the Logs " 75 

" Giant Geyser " — Yellowstone Park Ill 

The Great Falls of the Yellowstone 127 

Green River City, Wyoming 149 

" One Too Many " '. 193 

Goose Creek Rapids 205 

Yellowstone Lake, National Park 209 

Proteau's Gold Mine 221 

Scenes in the Black Hills 235 



CONTENTS. 



PART FIRST. 
The Resources of Wyoming. 

Chapter I. — Early History — Spanish Explorations in the West — Cas- 
tilians in the Big Horn Region — Father De Smet among the In- 
dians — Organization of Wyoming 9 

Chapter II. — The Wyoming of Today — Wealth and Productions — A 
Territory Teeming with Natural Resources — Utilization in 1877 
and Future Possibilities 20 

Chapter III. — Stock Raising and Dairying — The Business as Carried 
on in the New West — Its Immense Profits — Wyoming the "Stock- 
man's Paradise" — Number of Cattle, Price of Herds, Cost of Keep- 
ing and the Result in "Reliable Figures" — Improved Sheep Hus- 
bandry 27 

Chapter IV. — Agriculture — The Fertility of Wyoming Soils, the Cli- 
mate, Market, etc. — Practical Experiences of Wyoming Farmers . . 47 

Chapter V. — Mines and Mining — Wyoming's Immense Coal Measures, 
their Extent and Present Development — The Laramie and Sweet- 
water Gold and Silver Mines — Wonderful Deposits of Iron, Native 
Soda, Marble, Sulphur, Petroleum, etc , 51 

Chapter VI. — Forest Productions — The Great Lumbering Interest of 
the Northwest, and the Part Played by Wyoming Forests — Superi- 
ority of Wyoming Pine — Present Production — Manufacture of 
Charcoal . 74 

Chapter VII. — The Manufacturing Interest — Wyoming's Unexcelled 
Water- Powers, Mountains of Iron and Vast Beds of Coal — A Region 
for the Forge, the Shuttle and the Loom — Value of Manufactured 
Articles in 1877 79 

Chapter VIII. — Physical Geography and Climatology — Influence of 
Pacific Current upon the Climate of the Great Plains and Rocky 
Mountains — The Advantages Possessed by these Regions over the 
Atlantic Sea-board States — Popular Fallacies 84 

Chapter IX. — Manners and Society — How Absorbing Literature is 
Produced by Eastern Correspondents — The "Border Genius " and 
his Pranks — Woman Suffrage 105 

Chapter X. — Wyoming for Health and Pleasure — Natural Wonders — 
Game and Fish — Yellowstone National Park — Wyoming as a 
Resort for Invalids — Dr. Corey's Valuable Suggestions 110 



VI CONTENTS. 

PART SECOND. 
Counties, Cities and Miscellaneous Information. 

Chapter I. — Counties, Cities, Military Posts, etc. — Outlines of all 
Counties and Cities, their Wealth and Productions — Schools, 
Churches and Societies — County Officers, Banking, Railway and 
Telegraphic Facilities — Cost of Living, Wages, Price of Real 
Estate, Rents, etc 139 

Chapter II. — Synopsis of Laws — Exemptions, Limitations, Interest — 
United States Mining and Homestead Laws, Reclaiming Desert 
Lands — Weights and Measures 160 

PART THIRD. 
The Big Horn and Black Hills Regions. 

Chapter I. — The Big Horn Region — Location and Prominent Natural 
Features — The Recent Jaunt of Generals Sheridan and Crook 181 

Chapter II. — Early Gold Hunting — Indian Tradition — Testimony of 
Prominent Explorers and Army Officers — What Jim Bridger and 
Tom Sun say about Gold in the Big Horn Range 185 

Chapter III. — Soil, Climate, Grasses — Choice Nooks for the Farmer 
and Stockman — The Grand Rivers and Beautiful Valleys Along 
the Base of the Big Horn Range 197 

Chapter IY. — Fruits, Flowers, Game, Fish, Routes, etc. — The Indian 
Question — Present Population of the Big Horn Region and its 
Means of Defense 212 

Chapter V.— The Black Hills — Early Discovery of Gold — Mining, 
Stock-Raising, Agriculture, Lumbering and Other Interests — Cities 
and Camps, with their Location, Wealth, Resources, Population 
and Business — Routes Compared — Natural Identity of the Entire 
Black Hills Region with Wyoming 219 

Chapter VI. — Reminiscences and Miscellaneous Happenings — How the 
Seat of Empire has been Laid in the New Northwest — The Great 
Trans -continental Railway, and its Effect upon Western Develop- 
ment 243 



PART FIEST. 



The Resources of Wyoming 



AND PRESENT DEVELOPMENT. 



WYOMING. 



CHAPTER I. 



A BIT OF EARLY HISTORY. 

SINCE the time when Isabella pawned her jewels to procure 
an outfit for Columbus, the desire to discover the golden 
sands of the west has not lessened; and to recount the disap- 
pointments and disasters that have resulted therefrom would be 
no easy life-time task. Although the Genoese navigator had no 
idea of enriching himself by his perilous launch, in 1492, he at 
least hoped that the coffers of Ferdinand and his queen would be 
replenished by the wealth of new possessions. But most of his 
-companions were adventurers in quest of gold and glory, reckless 
and oftentimes cruel to brutality. The missionaries who accom- 
panied him were Franciscan friars, whose zeal for the conversion 
of the savages was only surpassed by the thirst of their compan- 
ions in bucklers for gold. Thus a religious zeal, which teaches 
its votaries to despise riches on earth and lay up treasures else- 
where, and a most avaricious desire for wealth on the part of 
these adventurers, went hand in hand exploring the southern 
part of North America more than three centuries ago. 

Four survivors of the ill-fated Spanish expedition to Florida, 
in 1528, bravely made their way westward across the Mississippi, 
traversed those sections now known as the commonwealths of 
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and finally reached the Gulf of 
California. Reappearing among former friends after several 
years of absence, they occasioned no little astonishment. Their 
glowing accounts of the kingdoms, cities and towns they had 
passed through, and the barbaric wealth and splendor they had 
witnessed excited and fascinated their listeners to such a degree 
2 



10 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

that an Italian friar, named Mark, determined to visit the 
country. He induced one of these four men, a negro named 
Stephen, to return, and boldly penetrated the wilderness until 
he came within sight of the city of Cibola, a location not made 
plain by early chroniclers. Here the venturesome friar and his 
companion were attacked by natives, and in the fight the negro 
was killed, leaving the isolated explorer only the alternative of 
swiftly retracing his steps. 

Friar Mark did not abandon his project, however, and in 1540 
he induced the chieftain Coronado to head an expedition to 
Cibola, stimulating the new adventurers by richly-colored tales 
of the vast riches and entrancing beauty of the place. Other 
Franciscans accompanied the expedition. Finally Cibola was 
reached, but not so the reputed wealth, for the place proved a 
barren prize. The friar was overwhelmed with reproaches, and, 
returning to the coast, soon died. 

But enchanting tradition whispered that there were other 
cities of untold wealth farther in the interior, and Coronado 
pushed on. He crossed the Eio Grande near the present town of 
Santa Fe and pushed northward to the Arkansas, but still failed 
to find the golden cities. True, he encountered numbers of small 
Indian villages, but fortune was no nearer than when he started 
from the sunny shores of the southwestern gulf. Growing 
thoroughly discouraged, after a two years' search, Coronado 
returned, leaving two zealous friars, however, at Indian villages 
along the Rio Grande. 

The fame of the supposed rich cities had now reached the 
City of Mexico and Tampico, and an expedition in quest of them 
started from the latter place in 1542. During the march north- 
ward an Indian village on the east side of the Rio Grande was 
named Santa Fe (holy faith), and became the base of future 
explorations. The two missionaries left behind in this vicinity 
by Coronado had already suffered death at the hands of the In- 
dians. From this time forward there were alternate successes 
upon the part of the Spaniards in establishing missions in New 
Mexico and of the savages in destroying them. The rich cities 
to the northward were yet undiscovered, although little doubt 
prevailed as to their existence. 

During the progress of the Mexican war, in 1846, a highly 
educated Mexican padre, named Ortiz, was captured near El Paso 



A BIT OF EARLY HISTORY. 11 

in the act of bearing dispatches to his countrymen south of the 
Rio Grande. While a prisoner in the hands of General Stephen 
W. Kearney's followers, he volunteered the statement to different 
American army officers that the Spanish had early in the seven- 
teenth century obtained a footing in the mountainous region 
some seven or eight hundred miles north of Santa Fe, but still 
south of the great muddy river (the Missouri) ; that they had 
built stone houses and arastras, and for nearly a quarter of a 
century had sent trains to the south laden with gold and rich 
furs. About 1650, however, the savages of the region commenced 
a wholesale massacre of these pioneers, and all were swept away 
as far south as Santa Fe. Ortiz had in his possession an old 
Spanish book, written late in the seventeenth century, describing 
all of the country between the Rio Grande and the Missouri, and 
also containing statements verifying those volunteered by him- 
self, to the effect that the ruins of these settlements existed in 
the northwest, and that great canals and other auxiliaries to 
mining had been there constructed. 

At intervals of many years following, reckless adventurers 
risked their lives to reach the northern land of promise, but these 
never returned after crossing the Arkansas. As late as 1781, a 
small expedition, accompanied by Jesuit missionaries, left Santa 
Fe and penetrated the great northwestern plains, but there is no 
account of the return of any of the party. 

These facts become especially interesting in connection with 
the developments of American explorers in our own time. Mem- 
bers of General Connor's Big Horn expedition of 1865, now resid- 
ing in Cheyenne, vouch for the statement then made that ruins 
of stone houses, evidently more than a century old, were found 
near the shores of the beautiful Lake de Smet, at the eastern base 
of the Big Horn Mountains. In 1866, the remains of an old 
Spanish arastra — a quartz-crushing implement — were found in 
the same region, at a point about fifty miles southwest of Fort 
Phil Kearney. Ruins of stone houses and fortifications were 
also discovered by Colonel Mills' expedition in the Big Horn 
country as late as the fall of 1874. Montana miners who were 
driven by the Indians from the Rosebud Mountains, east of Fort 
C. F. Smith, where they were prospecting in 1866, reported that 
there was evidence that mining had been extensively carried on, 
on some of the bars there, a long time previous to their visit. 



12 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

They found traces of iron tools which had been devoured by rust, 
the line of a former ditch to convey water upon the bars, and 
some other indications which lead to the conclusion that the 
Spanish adventurers alluded to had not only obtained a footing 
in the region, but had also perished there while in the realization 
of their wildest dreams. 

It is stated as a fact, capable of verification, that there is now 
a map in the archives of Paris, prepared by Jesuits as early as 
1792, which contains a correct topographical sketch of the Black 
Hills and Big Horn Mountains, and that both are marked as 
auriferous regions ; but from whence the information was derived 
is more than can be definitely ascertained. Certain it is, how- 
ever, that missionaries and gold-seekers visited portions of the 
present Territories of Wyoming and Montana, in search of souls 
and the royal metals, during the last century. 

Father De Smet. — No doubt one of these indomitable mis- 
sionaries, Father Peter John De Smet, became thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the country now embraced in Wyoming upward 
of thirty years ago. This intrepid disciple of Loyola emigrated 
from Belgium to America in 1823, and, proceeding to St. Louis, 
soon founded the St. Louis University. His abilities as a natu- 
ralist, botanist, metallurgist and geologist were very marked. 
His love for these studies, and a genuine desire to elevate our 
savage races, soon led him to follow a resolution made before he 
left his native land — to become a missionary among the Indians. 
Accordingly, in 1838, he commenced the career which has since 
given him so much prominence, and in 1839, with two com- 
panions, drifted fearlessly northward, destined for the fur-trading 
post of Fort Benton. In June of that year the trio camped at 
the present site of Cheyenne — a fact that the venerable mis- 
sionary cited when here in 1868 with Generals Sherman and 
Sheridan. 

"How long have you lived in Cheyenne?" asked the Father 
of a gentleman with whom he was conversing. 

" Since last November, Father. I suppose I may consider 
myself one of the oldest settlers of the place." 

" If I were so minded," remarked the missionary, " I could 
justly lay claim to being an older settler than you, for I camped 
here one night in June, 1839, on the banks of Crow creek, near 
the railroad bridge." 



A BIT OF EARLY HISTORY. 13 

After leaving Crow creek the missionaries crossed the coun- 
try to the Yellowstone, and from there to Fort Benton. They 
had many interesting adventures with Indians during the trip ; 
were often delayed by the savages, their movements suspiciously 
watched, and their motives in visiting the country carefully 
inquired into. But the gentle manners and sincerity of De Smet 
soon won for him their confidence and esteem. For about ten 
years his travels and explorations among the northern tribes 
were practically unrestricted — he was free to go and come, and 
met with hearty welcomes from the same savages who have since 
carried on a bitter warfare, and who have just succumbed to the 
military under General Crook and other officers. In 184y the 
"Black Gowns" (as these missionaries were styled among the 
Indians) were prohibited from coming out on their missions 
at the trading posts, because the small-pox had been commu- 
nicated to some of the bands by whites, and swept with fearful 
fatality to others. This was the only obstacle ever placed in 
the way of the self-sacrificing priests, and this was again soon 
removed. During these years of pilgrimage Father De Smet 
became well acquainted with the geological formation of the 
country, as well as with its geography and topography. From 
the forks of the Cheyenne on the east to Great Salt Lake on 
the west, and from the head waters of the Columbia river on 
the north to the Platte on the south, he was quite generally " at 
home." On his return to St. Louis from one of his long trips, 
just as the discovery of gold in California was made known, 
he heard some acquaintances expressing doubt as to the wonder- 
ful stories from the west. Turning to them, he said: "I do not 
doubt it. I am sure there is gold in California;" and after a 
moment's pause he quietly added : " I know where gold exists 
in the Eocky Mountains in such abundance that, if made known, 
it would astonish the world. It is even richer than California!" 
Among those who knew him best his statements were taken 
for literal truth, and when asked to corroborate the assertion 
quoted he would make no explanation, merely adhering to it 
and saying that he had promised the Indians never to describe 
the location of this wealth. 

Rev. Toussaint Mesphlie, now a Catholic chaplain in the 
United States army, is authority for the story, already quite gen- 
erally known, in which De Smet told of the Indians showing 



14 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

him handsful of nuggets which they proposed manufacturing 
into bullets for an old pistol which the Father had given to a 
prominent chief. De Smet was really taken to the spot from 
whence the nuggets were obtained, and found it to be immensely 
rich. But he taught the savages the value of it, told them their 
beautiful country would soon be desecrated by white miners if 
the facts became known, and in return was compelled to promise 
never to reveal the secret of its location. To the question once 
asked him by a bishop of his church at Omaha, "Are those 
mines on the Pacific coast the ones you have told about ? " the 
Father answered in the negative, and then sorrowfully added, 
"but I fear it will not be many years until they are discovered, 
and then what will become of my poor Indians?" To army 
officers and others he has often admitted his knowledge of those 
mines in the northwest, when closely pressed to do so, and many 
persons are now living who have tried in various ways to extract 
more definite knowledge from him. Most of these believe that 
a careful prospecting of the Big Horn and Wind river regions 
will certainly reveal the terra incognito, because it is understood 
that the old Montana mines were not meant, and that no spot 
yet discovered in the Black Hills answers to his glowing descrip- 
tion. 

While in Cheyenne, in 1868, he visited the home of a well- 
known citizen, and during his stay gave a most interesting and 
satisfactory account of northern Wyoming and the Yellowstone 
region. Among other things, he said : " There are a great many 
lovely valleys in that section, capable of sustaining a large popu- 
lation. The mountain scenery is truly grand, and the vast 
forests of timber wonderful and invaluable. Often have I seen 
evidences of mineral wealth in this wonderful country at different 
places. The whole range of the Eocky mountains, from New 
Mexico to British America, is mineral bearing. In many places 
the streams are stocked with trout, and game was abundant 
wherever I went. The climate is delightful, often reminding 
me of the climate in the south of France, near the Pyrenees. I 
have ridden through some of these rich valleys where the grass 
was so rank and tall that my head was not visible above its top 
when seated on horseback." 

Among the many literary works of Father De Smet were a 
series of letters which were continued for nearly thirty years and 




"father de smet and the aboriginal miner." 



A BIT OF EARLY HISTORY. 17 

were published in a French periodical. These letters no doubt 
contain a fund of information concerning our Territory, which 
some future historian will gladly avail himself of. His death at 
St. Louis in 1873 was a matter of universal regret. It can never 
be said that the thought of gain on earth was the secret of his 
labor, and the pure unselfishness which so strongly characterized 
his missionary work gave him the confidence of our savage races 
to an extent never before, and probably never again, to be gained 
by one man. To-day his name is reverentially used by young 
and old of the agency Indians. The sacred emblem of his faith 
— the cross — is worn universally, by hostile and peace Indian 
alike, and it is the principal design for ornament on their 
weapons and garments. His name is inseparably connected with 
the history of Wyoming. 

Other Explorers. — Granting that our old-time friend, Jim 
Bridger, was here when, as he expressed it, " Laramie Peak hadn't 
commenced to grow and was a hole in the ground," we are com- 
pelled to divide honors about equally between officers of the 
American army and representatives of the great fur companies 
for first following in the wake of Spanish and Jesuit adventurers 
and missionaries. These later explorations, which resulted in a 
permanent occupancy of the country, dated from the first years 
of the present century. Besides the gallant achievements of 
Lieutenants Lewis and Clarke, Captain Bonneville and General 
Fremont, the latest nearly half a century ago, we have it from 
reliable authority that the hardy spirits of the northwestern fur 
companies had trapped no less than 3,000,000 beavers along the 
northern range of mountains previous to 1825 — a statement 
which tells the whole story of early pioneering, with its train of 
thrilling episodes and soul-trying emergencies. 

Organization. — After the creation of Dakota Territory, the 
greater portion of the region now embraced within the limits of 
Wyoming belonged to our sister commonwealth first named. To 
Dakota, therefore, our earliest pioneers looked for what little law 
and justice was given them ; and it was the rule, rather than the 
exception, that citizens at this long distance from the capital 
waited either very long or else hopelessly for even such little 
satisfaction. It is a fact well known that more revenue was 
gained by the territorial treasury from this isolated section than 
from all of eastern Dakota, while the taxation here laid by the 



18 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

United States aggregated very handsome amounts. But with 
the completion of the transcontinental railway a new era was 
inaugurated, and the enterprising settlers who laid the founda- 
tion for our new State, that is to be, made vigorous efforts to 
secure an organization nearer home. These were baffled until 
July 25, 1868, when the act to provide a temporary government 
for the Territory of Wyoming became a law. The boundaries 
designated for the foundling were the forty-first and forty-fifth 
degrees of north latitude and the twenty-seventh and thirty- 
fourth meridians of longitude west from Washington. This 
gave the Territory the generous dimensions of 355 miles in length 
by 276 miles in breadth, and, besides taking a large proportion of 
Dakota's domain, carved smaller areas from Colorado and Utah. 

Federal appointments for nearly all offices were made during 
April, 1869, and on the 10th of May following the new govern- 
ment was in complete working order, with Cheyenne as the 
capital. The gentlemen who first filled positions of trust were : 
J. A. Campbell, Governor; Edward M. Lee, Secretary; Church 
Howe, Marshal ; J. M. Carey, United States Attorney ; John M. 
Howe, Chief Justice ; J. W. Bingham and W. S. Jones, Associate 
Justices; C. D. Euger, Surveyor General; Frank Walcott, Re- 
ceiver Public Land Office. 

The first legislative assembly in Wyoming was organized at 
Cheyenne October 12, 1869, with Wm. H. Bright as President of 
the Council, and S. M. Curran, Speaker of the House. The 
legislature adjourned sine die on the 10th of December, after 
having given the first laws that were considered really binding 
by the people of this section. Succeeding sessions have been 
held biennially, meeting, according to enactment, one month 
later than the first. 

The present Territorial government consists of the following: 
Governor, John M. Thayer; Secretary, Geo. W. French; Mar- 
shal, W. F. Sweezy ; District Attorney, E. P. Johnson ; Surveyor 
General, E. C. David; Treasurer, A. R. Converse; Auditor, 
Orlando North ; Collector, E. P. Snow ; Justices of the Supreme 
Court, J. W. Fisher, Wm. W. Peck, J. B. Blair; Superintendent 
of Instruction, John Slaughter; U. S. Commissioner, J. W. 
Bruner ; Register U. S. Land Office, G. R. Thomas ; Receiver of 
Public Moneys, I. C. Whipple ; Librarian, John Slaughter. 



A BIT OF EARLY HISTORY. 



19 



The following is the official count of the elections for delegate 
to Congress in Wyoming since the organization : 





1869. 


1870. 


1872. 1874. 1876. 


Counties. 


« d 

•7* O 

O 


I* 


a> d 


an 

e 3 


3 d 

53 
ops 

•■a 


u 


j 
^ • i & _• 


« d 

8* 


Is 

go 1-1 


Albany 

Carbon 

Laramie 

Sweetwater 


320 

190 

722 
593 
138 


515 

389 
886 
862 
679 


428 
150 
398 
363 
327 


369 
183 
380 
279 

228 


359 

79 
518 
399 
116 


563 

261 
572 

186 
160 


555 

282 
677 
306 
584 


699 
363 

881 
406 
657 


1.010 
529 

1,242 
'496 
587 


533 

407 
940 
423 
457 








Totals. 


1,963 


3,331 

1.368 


1,666 

227 


1,439 


1,471 


1,742 
271 


2,404 


R 006 


3,864 
1,104 


2,760 


Majority 


. ...| 606 




Whole vote (includ- 
ing scattering) . . 


5,266 


3,202 


3,213 


5,404 


6,626 



It should be mentioned that the vote of 1869 was greatly out 
of proportion to the permanent population, as the new railroad 
towns and mining camps were filled with a large floating popula- 
tion, which disappeared with the flush times of the earliest days. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE WYOMING OF TO-DAY— WEALTH AND PRODUCTIONS. 

WHILE perusing the pages which follow, the reader should 
ever keep in mind two very important facts: First — that 
the field reviewed has until the present been almost wholly recog- 
nized as the sacred and impenetrable stronghold of the most 
powerful of America's savage nations ; that the Indian has held 
possession of nearly all of the domain which could be rendered 
productive and has greatly retarded the development of the re- 
maining and most undesirable portion by systematically plunder- 
ing its pioneers. Second — that while more accessible common- 
wealths have always held out great inducements for speedy 
settlement, and have thus in a single decade quadrupled their 
population and productions, Wyoming has really made no ear- 
nest effort to attain such an end. It was plain that protection 
could not be afforded the emigrant except along the southern line 
of the Territory, where desirable locations are limited, and the 
legislature which abolished all efforts tending to secure miscel- 
laneous immigration was wise and judicious — even if its humane 
spirit was wondered at by rival Territories. 

But the Wyoming of to-day glows with a new life. Peace 
has dawned so suddenly that the long-fettered frontier has scarce 
awakened from its ten years of darkened dreaming. To realize 
that her grand area of nearly 100,000 square miles, crowded with 
all the bountiful resources of a coveted empire, is at once and 
forever emancipated from savage sway, may be easy in quiet New 
England, but not so where the keys of development have always 
been carried at the girdle of a hostile possessor. To define the 
thrill which permeates the frame of the first herdsman who 
pushes his flocks northward across the Platte river at staunch 
old Fort Fetterman, and sets his feet firmly upon " Indian 
ground," might also be a prosy task in the east, but in the val- 
leys of Wyoming it will meet an echoing tingle never to be for- 
gotten. And now, while celebrating such an epoch, let us not 



WEALTH AND PRODUCTIONS. 21 

forget to whom its bright inception is due, but with our rejoicing 
mingle thanks to the gallant, hard-worked and faithful military 
of the Department, directed by General G-eorge Crook, and to 
the new zeal manifested in our welfare by an awakened admin- 
istration. 

The natural capabilities of few regions are so generously and 
favorably diversified as in that embraced within the limits of 
"Wyoming. Forest and plain, mountain and valley, water-course 
and upland alternate and unite to furnish the most accessible 
field for the speedy creation of a large and prosperous common- 
wealth. Her grazing area proper aggregates 55,000 square miles, 
while much of the mountain surface omitted in this estimate is 
thickly carpeted during summer and fall with her most succulent 
and nutritious grasses. That portion of the surface susceptible 
of cultivation comprises nearly 20,000 square miles of bottom 
and uplands. The timber area, less the many extensive patches 
along water-courses in the lower valleys, is fully 30,000 square 
miles — a portion of this covering the best grazing lands. In- 
cluding the latest discoveries in the northern part of her domain, 
Wyoming possesses 24,000 square miles of coal lands, with vast 
deposits of rich iron ores alternating in different sections. The 
regions in which precious metals are known to exist present an 
area of 40,000 square miles, all underlying the forest region 
already noted. Among other important natural auxiliaries are 
immense deposits of marble, soda, plumbago, oil-bearing shale, 
petroleum and red oxide of iron, all adjacent to the line of the 
Union Pacific Eailway, and some of them already commencing to 
swell the wealth of the Territory's productions. 

To more strikingly present the extent of these natural fea- 
tures and their capabilities, let us indulge in a few comparisons. 
"Wyoming's grazing area is greater than the entire area of Ken- 
tucky, a State which in 1870 owned 1,639,092 head of sheep and 
cattle, beside over a million head of other live stock. Her agri- 
cultural area of virgin and fertile soil is greater than that of the 
States of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined, which on 
their artificially fertilized soil produced in 1870 5,857,239 bush- 
els of grain. Wyoming's forests cover more territory than those 
of the great lumbering State of Michigan, whose product in this 
line reaches a value of $40,000,000 per annum. And her surface 
underlaid with strata after strata of coal, exceeds that of the coal 



22 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



lands of Pennsylvania, whose product reaches $50,000,000 or 
more annually. 

The eleven principal rivers of the Territory — the Yellow- 
stone, North Platte, Big Horn, Green, Bear, Snake, Tongue, 
Laramie, Cheyenne, Powder and Sweetwater — have a total 
length within her limits of 4,000 miles, and with their number- 
less tributaries afford her a more complete and better distributed 
water system than any of the trans-Missouri States or Territories 
can boast. These facts are all enlarged upon in succeeding pages, 
and are merely thus outlined to give the reader an idea of the 
wealth lying latent in the new northwest. And now let us see 
hastily what progress the pioneer, in his trammeled state, has 
made in the utilization of these princely resources. 

The following table, exhibiting the assessed valuation and 
population of the Territory in 1870 and 1877, is compiled from 
the official returns and includes the reports of the present year.* 



Counties. 


Est. 
Population. 


Assessed Valuation. 


Rate of 

Taxation 

Total, 

1876. 


Name of 
Countt Seat. 




1870. 

2,500 

2,000 

4,000 

4,500 

1,750 


1877. 

8.500 
2,500 
9,540 
3,500 
4,500 


1870. 
$593,547 
1,731.418 
1,397,771 
1,840,120 
1,900,000 


1877. 

$2,500,000 
1,900,000 
3,000,000 
1,918,449 
2,500,000 

11,818,449 




Albany 

Carbon 

Laramie 

Sweetwater . . . 
Uintah 


Mills. 

21 
15 

28 


Laramie City. 

Rawlins. 

Cheyenne. 

Gre'nRiv.Cy. 

Evanston. 


Totals 


14,750 


28,540 


$5,516,748 





Basing this estimate upon the opinions of numerous well in- 
formed citizens in different sections of the Territory, the writer 
places the true present valuation of all property at $15,500,000. 

Wyoming is in a most healthy and gratifying financial con- 
dition. There is no territorial indebtedness, but the handsome 
surplus of $13,000 remains in her treasury. The valuation of 
property, according to assessment returns just noted, has in- 
creased from $5,500,000 in 1870 to $9,000,000 in 1876, and $11,- 
818,449 in 1877. The Territorial tax of three mills for this year 
will place the treasury in even better condition than it is at 
present, notwithstanding the fact that the meeting of the legis- 
lature during the coming autumn will cause a large drain upon 
its funds. A majority of the counties can present the same pro- 
portionate financial prosperity. 

* Returns from Carbon aud Uintah counties could not be obtained, and are therefore- 
estimated from best data at hand. 



WEALTH AND PRODUCTIONS. 25 

A careful summing up of Wyoming's productions for the year 
1877 results as follows: 

9 

Coal, 524,000 tons at average of $4 per ton $2,096,000 

Gold, dust and bullion 815,000 

Hay and other farm products 485,000 

Live stock and wool 990,000 

Manufactured articles, including lumber, stone, etc 3,918,120 

Total $8,304,120 

Internal revenue collections for the past five years, as reported 
by Collector E. P. Snow, will give readers an idea of the steady 
and rapid increase of Wyoming's returns to the home govern- 
ment. They are as follows : 

1872 $6,727 27 

1873 10,652 94 

1874 11,233 38 

1875 11,942 11 

1876 15,063 37 

Total $55,619 07 

For a Territory so young and hitherto harassed by savages, 
Wyoming deserves no little credit for her fine system of rail, 
stage and telegraph. The following figures again strongly 
illustrate what inducements her great natural wealth has held 
out to capitalists : 

The Territory contains 2 railways aggregating a length of 500 miles. 

" 6 telegraph lines aggregating a length of 1,401 " 
" 4 daily mail routes " 908 " 

A third railway is in course of construction, and a fourth, to 
penetrate the Big Horn, Black Hills and Yellowstone regions, 
will be well under way within the coming year. Excellent wagon 
roads reach from the Union Pacific Kailway to even the most 
remote and newest mining districts. 

There are those who are ever ready to assert that as the 
Indian troubles are settled and military posts are abandoned, 
much government patronage will cease, prominent industries 
will wane, and our now thriving cities will absolutely suffer. 
The writer grants that the entire loss of government patronage 
will amount to a few millions annually, should that very improb- 
able loss occur within a quarter of a century. But, judging the 
future by the unmistakable past, let us see how, with peace 
3 



26 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

within our borders, old channels of production are widened and 
new ones created. And, further, let us carefully note the propor- 
tion of gain, by a perfect peace, to that of loss under the old 
superficial stimulus of government expenditure in times of 
disquiet. 

In 1870, with a population nearly as large as at present — but 
limited in its range to comparatively unproductive centers — 
and with a larger number of military posts and agencies, our 
productions of every nature amounted to less than $1,000,000 in 
value, according to official estimates. In 1877, with a greater 
safety in the operation of mines, a determined occupation of 
productive territory and a greater freedom in the investment of 
capital, our various industries will yield a product of not less 
than $8,200,000. With little more than the same amount of 
population and our productions already twice quadrupled, it is 
self-evident that our scope for securing revenue has widened 
just so much. Within the past ten years Nebraska has enjoyed 
comparative peace and has increased her population from 50,000 
to 300,000. Kansas, with her wild tribes subdued, has in the 
same period grown from a population of 175,000 to '475,000 and 
has more than quadrupled her productions; while Colorado, 
with no greater natural resources than those of our own Wyo- 
ming, has increased her 30;000 people to 130,000, and rivals some 
of the older States in the diversity and value of her productions. 

In none of these States has the limit of prosperity been half 
approached. Wyoming excels any of them in pastoral resources 
and equals any for the value of mineral deposits or forest lands. 
With these grand capabilities will not the hour soon come when 
the enthusiastic writers of to-day will be proven even modest in 
their now apparent extravagance ? The time draws near when 
the emerald plains and the metal-ribbed mountains of Wyoming 
will enable her to take exalted place among her sister States, 
holding deeply hidden in her rocky defiles a nation's wealth and 
bearing in her sheltered valleys the keys which unlock those 
wondrous treasures. 



CHAPTER TIL 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 

HOWEVER much we may theorize upon our vast wealth 
lying hidden beneath the soil, all speculation ceases when 
we consider the industries which flourish upon and above it. 
The riches of mountains and gulches may often be glowing and 
fascinating uncertainties, but the treasures, latent and developed, 
in our broad pastures and thousand nestling valleys are facts as 
certain as our existence. At this late day no argument is neces- 
sary to show that the world pays its greatest tribute to food — to 
bread and beef — and that the demand ever keeps its proportion 
beyond the supply. Then, being assured of a market always 
stimulated by deficit, the question only remains where in the 
new west these industries can be most profitably pursued. 

After weighing the many facts and observations bearing upon 
the climate of this region, so ably presented by Dr. Corey in an- 
other chapter, the reader will not be surprised at the statements 
so long thrown broadcast that beneficent Nature cures our 
grasses and herbs, and that not one out of ten thousand of our 
cattle has ever consumed an ounce of other food. A striking 
illustration of this grand advantage in stock-raising was the. an- 
swer received by the writer from a prominent stockman in regard 
to the latter's preference for cattle over sheep — " because cattle 
take care of themselves and sheep don't ! " This assertion, while 
not literally true, is far nearer the mark than notices can realize. 
It is true that ranch sites are improved and herders employed, 
but to feed, water, shelter or salt the steer of the period would be 
a sad innovation upon the all-prevailing custom of letting said 
steer shift for himself. 

A brief outline of the several systems employed by cattle- 
growers of Wyoming will give readers a more correct idea of our 
advantages than can be given by presenting volumes of general- 
ities. A quite popular mode of handling cattle is that in which 
breeding is given little attention, and buying and selling steers 



28 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

season after season takes the preference. Two and three-year-old 
steers are purchased in Texas in the early summer at say $12 and 
$16 per head delivered at Cheyenne. With them are often pur- 
chased a few heifers and cows, which, upon being located on the 
range, are kept as a nucleus to assist in holding the strange an- 
imals bought each year within the limits of the range. A desir- 
able ranch site is chosen, and as a rule the improvements made 
are much less expensive than those on regular breeding ranches. 
The cattle are kept upon our rich cured grasses during the win- 
ter, and during the summer following (one year from the date of 
their entry) the best three and four-year-olds are sold to local 
dealers or are consigned to eastern commission men. These 
well-conditioned Texan s sell at an average of $28 per head at 
any of our stations, while the few not fit for sale are left with 
the nucleus already referred to and held over for another season. 
The profits are at once reinvested in the manner first described, 
and the buying, pasturing and selling thus continued year after 
year. 

Following is a tabulated statement of the industry as thus 
carried on. It is taken from the books of an experienced and 
thoroughly reliable stock-dealer of Cheyenne, and while the 
profits are very moderately figured the percentage of loss is ad- 
mitted by the gentleman in question to be an exaggerated esti- 
mate: 

Stock Investment, No. 1. 

Result of investment in 750 head of Texas steers made July, 1874, and profits 
reinvested yearly, and kept in operation without closing account for three 
years : 

FIRST INVESTMENT. 

Bought July, 1874, 350 head 3-year-old steers at $16 $5,600 

Bought July, 1874, 400 head 2-year-old steers at $12 4,800 

Sold from July to December, 1875 — 
450 head 4 and 3-year-olds at $28 $12,600 

Bought from July to December, 1875 — 

450 head 3-year-old steers at $16 7,200 

450 head 2-year-old steers at $12 5,400 

12,600 

Carry over old stock not fit for market — 
300 head 4 and 3-year-olds at $20 6,000 

1,200 head on hand end of first year; value $18,600 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 29 

SECOND YEAR. 

Sold from July to December, 1876 — 

250 head 4 and 5-year-old steers at $30 $7,500 

550 head 4 and 5-year-old steers at $28 15,400 

$22,900 

Bought 800 head 3-year-olds at $16 $12,800 

Bought 800 head 2-year-olds at $12 9,600 

22,400 

Carry forward old stock — 

50 head 4 and 5-year-olds at $30 $1,500 

350 head 4 and 5-year-olds at $20 7,000 

8,500 

2,000 head on hand; value $30,900 

Balance, cash on hand not reinvested 500 

Assets at end of second year $31,400 

THIRD YEAR. 

Sales from July to December, 1877 — 

350 head 4 and 5-year-olds at $30 $10,500 

1,000 head 4 and 3-year-olds at $28 . . - 28,000 

On hand from last year, not fat, or otherwise unmarketable — 

f>0 head 5 and 6-year-olds at $30. . > 1,500 

650 head 3 and 4-year-olds at $20 13,000 

Amount of assets at end of third year , $53,000 

Total cattle bought 3,200 head. 

Deduct for losses of three years at 10 per cent — 

320 head at $20 $6,400 

Original investment 10,400 

16,800 

Net profit $36,200 

The next account presents the results of breeding cattle ex- 
clusively. The estimates are made from actual experience, and 
the profits are as entirely free from exaggeration as in the pre- 
vious .showing: 

Stock Investment, No. 2. 

Nucleus of 1,000 Texas cows and necessary Short-Horn bulls, requiring a 
capital of $15,000. The account runs for a period of five years, during 
which time the amounts realized from sales are not reinvested, except 
those necessary for the purchase of bulls : 



30 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



1877. 

1,000 cows @ $12 $12,000 

40 bulls @ $75 3,000 



1878. 



1,000 cows. 
250 heifer calves 1 50 per cent 
250 steer calves \ first year. 



1,500 

46 bulls, 


less deaths. 




950 cows. 

250 heifers, 1 yr. old. 

250 steers, 1 yr. old. 

350 heifer calves ) 

350 steer calves ) 70 per 


cent 


2,150 

58 bulls, 


less deaths. 





1879 



1880, 



900 cows (70 per cent calves). 
250 heifers, 2 yrs. (40 per cent 

calves). 
250 steers, 2 yrs. 
350 heifers, 1 yr. 
350 steers, 1 yr. 
380 heifer calves. 
350 steer calves. 



$15,000 

Sell 50 dry cows @ $20. . . . $1,000 
Buy 6 bulls for use July, 

1879, @ $75 450 

Cash balance 550 

Sell 50 cows @ $20 $1,000 

Balance from 1878 550 

1,550 
Buy 12 bulls for use July, 

1880, @ $75 900 

Balance 650 

Cash balance $650 

Sell 50 cows @ $20 1,000 

Buy 15 bulls for use July, 

1881, @ $75 1,125 

Balance 525 



2,830 

73 bulls, less deaths. 

850 cows. 

250 " (half-breeds). 

350 heifers, " 2 yrs. 

380 " " lyr. 

250 steers " 3 yrs. 

350 " ♦. " 2 yrs. 

350 " " 1 yr. 

460 heifers " calves. 

450 steers " " 

3,690 

73 bulls, less deaths. 



1881. 



Cash balance $525 

Sell 50 cows at $20 1,000 

Sell 200 steers, 3 yrs., @ 

$30 6,000 

Cash balance 7,525 

No bulls allowed for last 
year. Those bought in 1880 
do service in 1881, and the 
party buying or keeping the 
heifer stock should provide 
for service of 1882. 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 



31 



1882. 



800 cows (old). 

600 " (half-breeds) 3 



4 yrs. 



380 heifers 


' 2 yrs. 


460 " 


1 yr. 


50 steers 


' 4 yrs. 


350 " 


' 3 yrs. 


350 " 


2 yrs. 


450 " 


' i yr. 


575. heifers 


calves 


575 steers 


' " 


4,590 




60 bulls — say " 


L3 dead. 



Cash balance $7,525 

Sell 100 cows @ $20 2,000 

Sell 50 steers, 4 yrs., @ $35 1,750 

Sell 250 " 3 yrs., @ $30 7,500 

Cash proceeds, end of fifth 

year 18,775 

Net over purchase of bulls. 



4.650 head, total end of fifth year, July, 1882. 



VALUE OP STOCK ON HAND. 



1,300 cows @ $20 $26,000 

100 steers, 3 yrs., @ $30. 3,000 
730 heifers and steers, 2 

yrs., @ $18 13,140 

910 heifers and steers, 1 

yr., @ $12.50.... 11,375 
1,150 heifers and steers, 

calves, @ $7.50.. 8,625 

60 bulls @ $50 3,000 



Cash balance $18,775 

Stock 65,140 



83,915 
Deduct capital 15.000 



Profit 68,915 



4,250 head total, deducting 

sales. 65,140 

There are also many stock men who prefer to combine these 
systems, and who claim that the business is more profitable and 
4 satisfactory in every way when thus conducted. For parties who 
do not desire to continue in the industry more than a few years 
the first plan presents the strong inducement of not requiring so 
much preparation and expense in starting; while the rather 
"gipsy" fashion of conducting the enterprise admits of the settle- 
ment and termination of it without inconvenience at almost any 
time. The last plan can only be appreciated, and its grand possi- 
bilities realized by its being followed for a series of years. Made 
a permanent industry, it is undoubtedly a surer, and possibly as 
short a road to wealth as is offered by any legitimate enterprise 
under the sun. 

Texas yearlings, either sex, can be bought at almost any rail- 



32 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

road point in eastern Wyoming at $7.50 per head ; two-year-olds, 
$12 ; cows, $13. A good ranch site, with necessary buildings and 
corrals, located within two days' drive of the railroad, can be 
secured for $1,500. First-class herders (and others are dear at 
any price) can be readily obtained at an average of $32.50 per 
month arid board. Texas cattle are taxed at an average valuation 
of $10 per head, the rate being twenty-eight mills on the dollar. 
Very close calculations, made by several competent informers, 
make the total expenses of keeping cattle each year, after the 
necessary permanent ranch improvements have been made, as 
follows : In herds of 1,000, per head, $1.75 ; in herds of 5,000, 
$1.40 ; in herds of 10,000, $1. It is also reliably stated that such 
stock growers as J. W. Iliff, who graze over 25,000 head, figure 
their expenses down to from sixty-five to seventy-five cents per 
head per annum. 

Think of our average cattle man raising a steer and putting 
him on the market, a three-year-old, at a total expense of four 
dollars and fifty cents. The same animal in Illinois, be he scrub 
or thorough-bred, would cost his owner two-thirds of his selling- 
price for feed alone. It may be remarked by the critical reader 
that the Illinois bullock sells for two-thirds more than the one 
native to Wyoming. We need only answer that it will not cost 
five cents more to raise the sleek, high-grade animal on the 
plains than the Texan steer now costs. It is a mere matter of 
choice upon the part of the breeder whether he continues raising 
the scrawny Texan, year after year, and sells him at $28, or by 
introducing better blood into his herds soon produces a grade 
which brings him $45. 

Two per cent, is considered a liberal estimate of losses from all 
causes in this northwestern region, although it would be too low 
on the plains of Kansas, or even portions of Colorado, for the 
reason that the humidity of the atmosphere during storms, and 
the almost inevitable partial melting of snows immediately after 
their fall in those sections are most fatal to weakened animals. 
While snows in those regions are moist and soon badly encrusted, 
our nutritious grasses are at once laid bare for grazing by the 
almost unceasing winds which sweep the light dry snows from 
the broad level plateaux, and pile them in narrow gulches. 

Early in the summer of each year the great "round-ups" 
occur. All herders, and frequently owners of stock, gather 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 35 

together in certain localities, and, with the most experienced and 
skillful stockmen for leaders, inaugurate a short season of the 
herdsmen's wildest revelry. Mounted upon their best ponies, the 
herders swiftly scatter out across the range, gathering in every 
animal, and finally concentrating the property of perhaps a dozen 
prominent stock growers in one immense, excited herd. Passing 
near the ranches of respective owners, the animals are halted in 
a convenient location, and part of the cow-boys hold the mass 
while others ride through it, single out the "brand," or animal, 
belonging to the adjacent range or ranch, and separate it from 
the main body of cattle until none of that description are to be 
found. Moving along to the next man's range, the scene is 
repeated, and so continued until the cattle are divided. Then 
young stock is branded, marketable stock sometimes disposed of, 
and the cattle are again allowed their freedom. Five or ten 
thousand head are thus frequently gathered together, and during 
the round-up season men " camp out," wagons following the 
herd with provisions, blankets, etc. Our artist has given a very 
fair representation of the "cutting out" scene on another page. 
In regard to the wonderful and often exaggerated results 
placed upon paper in relation to this industry, a few words may 
not be amiss. A steady profit of twenty-five per cent, per annum 
is really a common result. Forty and fifty per cent, have been 
realized, but the writer who lays down such figures as an average 
is very liable to get his reputation involved. It is not uncom- 
mon for experienced stockmen, who know how to utilize every 
advantage, and to guard against nearly all discouragements, to 
do business for a time on capital borrowed at two per cent, per 
month, and to make a small margin on the investment. The 
writer has in mind a gentleman whose large herds roam in 
southern Wyoming, who for five years has made the very hand- 
some profit of forty per cent, per annum. He has been especially 
judicious in his purchases and sales, exercised great care and 
judgment in the selection of a range, and in his system of ranch 
improvements, and has been so fortunate as to secure some of the 
best men on the plains to carry out the practical workings of his 
business. Constant supervision and study upon the part of the, 
otvner of stock is a grand point. There are practical cattle men 
who will do as well for the investor as they would do for them- 
selves, but these are never looking for work; and one of the 



36 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



secrets of the few failures that have been made is the fact that 
men of no experience in the business put their money and prop- 
erty into the hands of total strangers, in the belief that the latter 
would set at defiance every law of human nature, and look out 
purely for the interest of the novice. 

The assessment returns of the present year place the total 
number of cattle and sheep in Wyoming as follows : cattle, 90,005 
head ; sheep, 67,871 head. Following are the reports returned, 
together with the total area of each county, the estimated area 
thus far appropriated, and the estimated wool clip : 



Counties. 


Total area 

in square 

miles. 


Area appro- 
priated, 
sq. miles. 


No. cattle. 


No. sheep. 


Wool clip, 
pounds. 


Albany 


10,488 
22;080 
16,836 
29,532 
17,064 


3,000 
4,000 
6,500 
9,000 
3,500 


9,895 

8,000 

53,233 

11,377 

7,500 


24,604 
1,500 

35,602 
1,965 
4,200 


125,000 

8,000 

175,000 


Carbon 




Sweetwater 


9,000 


Uintah 


18,000 




Totals 


96,000 


26,000 


90,005 


67,871 


335,000 





These reports do not include this season's increase, and are 
certainly twenty-five per cent under the real figures, without- 
taking the increase into consideration. , From many estimates 
made by reliable stockmen we would therefore credit the Terri- 
tory with 150,000 cattle and 100,000 sheep at this writing. The 
drive of cattle from Texas into Wyoming this year is estimated 
at from 50,000 to 65,000 head. The demand is still brisk, and 
at least 20,000 more would have been taken by our dealers and 
cattle-growers but for the falling off of the supply at southern 
points. Over 26,000 head are to be sold and shipped from 
Wyoming stations this season, representing a value of nearly 
$800,000. There is a reliable home market for 10,000 head per 
annum in the Territory and Black Hills camps at the present 
rate of consumption. Beef steers here average $32 per head; 
cows, $22.50 ; calves, $8. 

Mutton and Wool. — Much that is said of the adaptability of 
the Wyoming climate and grasses to cattle-raising applies equally 
well to the production of sheep. But, as has already been inti- 
mated, sheep require a little extra attention in herding, feeding, 
sheltering, etc., during occasional storms. A comparative state- 
ment will exhibit the extra expense, and also the advantage here 



STOCK-RAISING ANT) DAIRYING. 37 

obtained over flock-masters in the older States. In the official 
reports of 1862, before the inflation of prices, it was estimated, 
from many communications from all the northern States, that 
the average cost of keeping sheep was $2.65 per head per annum. 
Taking this as a basis, the comparative cost of keeping sheep in 
the States and on the plains would be as follows : 

3,000 sheep in the States, at $2.65 per head $7,950 

3.000 sheep in Wyoming, herding and shearing : . . .$800 

100 tons of hay, fed during severe storms, at $6 600 

Total 1,400 

Difference in favor of Wyoming $6,550 

In ordinary winters not one-fourth of the hay would be needed. 
Flock-masters in the crowded east, can you afford to pasture 
sheep on land worth from $50 to $100 per acre, when such facili- 
ties as free pasturage, the most nutritious grasses, a climate 
naturally adapted to wool-bearing animals, and a never-failing 
market for mutton and wool, are presented by Wyoming and 
Montana? Mark the difference and place the balance in favor 
of this section in even the most discouraging light possible, and 
you will yet see enough left that is sufficiently encouraging to 
persuade you to make a change. 

There are points in this industry, bearing upon absolute suc- 
cess or failure, which must not be overlooked. Experience, study 
and watchful care over the flocks is an absolute and undeniable 
necessity. As well might an unlearned journeyman blacksmith 
attempt to conduct a great daily newspaper as might a man from 
the business centers of the east, with no semblance of practical 
knowledge, expect to achieve almost instant success as a wool- 
grower on our great plains. To show that this animadversion is 
really called for, the writer need only quote an actual occurrence. 
A firm came from London, a few years ago, upon the strength of 
representations that in this blessed pastoral country sheep could 
be turned loose to care for themselves; they would require 
neither herding, shelter nor feed from one years end to another, 
.and in the small space of three years a flock of a few thousand 
would make their owners immensely wealthy. The sheep were 
bought, " turned loose " upon a good range, and the flock-masters 
spent most of their time at a convenient railroad station. During 
the fall the wolves disposed of large numbers of the helpless ani- 



38 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

mals, and in the course of an unusually severe winter, hundreds 
were "bunched up" in gulches by heavy storms and frozen or 
starved to death. The same firm are to-day numbered among 
our model wool-growers, but mark the cost of the experience. 

If, during the late and trying winter months, a severe storm 
arises, the sheep are at once driven to shelter, and should the 
storms continue longer than is their usual wont, hay is at hand 
to bridge over the period during which grazing is .prevented. 
The Hocks are visited daily by either the owner or a capable 
overseer, and herders either rendered trustworthy or discharged. 
Shearing is delayed until danger of late spring storms is at an 
end. Employes are well paid, well fed, and made to feel an 
interest in the employer and his business. The ranch is located 
where shelter and suitable buildings can be cheaply erected and 
repaired, and where hay sufficient for all possible demands can 
be economically put up. Then wool and mutton markets are 
carefully studied. These are a few of the points watched by 
successful wool-growers, and among those who are managing 
their business thus systematically there is as much enthusiasm 
and as much success, as a rule, as among the best cattle-growers. 
Successes have been recorded without these precautions, but one 
failure made in this way retards the development of our grazing 
resources to a greater extent than two triumphs encourage it. 

The writer cannot forego mentioning one other and vital 
point bearing upon the realization of all the possibilities within 
range of the careful flock-master — that of improving the quality 
of both mutton and wool. 

Let Wyoming flock-masters — let all the brave pioneers who 
are en-gaged in the great work of founding the grand trans-Mis- 
souri empire, which the world shall yet look upon and admire 
— remember this fundamental maxim: "Whatsoever is worth 
doing at all is worth doing well." It is true, as we believe, that 
the most advanced and intelligent of Wyoming's wool-growers 
do already recognize and act upon this axiomatic and golden 
truth. The evidence is found in the existence of many flocks of 
superior sheep in the Territory, young as she is in her civilized 
pastoral life. 

Showing the advantages of the improved system of sheep 
husbandry over the old, shiftless, improgressive system, is like 
attempting to prove the truth of an axiom — it is almost a work 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 



39 



of supererogation ; yet these advantages cannot too often be held 
up to public view, for not all sheep breeders are thinking, pro- 
gressive men. For example, take a band composed of native 
Mexican ewes and bucks, and with them conduct operations 
during a term of, say, five years. Then take a band of the breed 
and quality of ewes (i. e., common Mexican), cross them with 
pure Merino or Cotswold bucks, and conduct operations in breed- 
ing and wool-growing during a similar period of time: the result 
will strikingly illustrate the practical advantages of the improved 
system. Thus: One thousand Mexican ewes (with twenty com- 
mon bucks to start with) will, with reasonable care, skill and 
judgment on the part of the flock-master, yield the results shown 
in the first of the following tables, which were prepared and pub- 
lished by the writer several years since, but which he feels justi- 
fied in bringing forward again at this time. The calculation, as 
will be seen, is based on the low annual increase of seventy-five 
per cent., an average yield of two pounds of wool per head sold at 
twenty cents per pound, and an annual expense of fifty cents per 
head for every animal (including original flock and all increase), 
during the five years. 

The estimated yield in numbers and fleece is moderate, while 
the margin allowed for expense is ample to cover usual outlay 
for that purpose, as well as mortality and all reasonable contin- 
gencies. On this basis, then, the yield in wool alone of one 
thousand ewes would be in five years as given in the table, 
counting no fleece from lambs the first year: 

STATEMENT 

Showing the yield in five years of 1,000 common Mexican ewes and bucks. 



Years. 


Sheep. 

No. of wool-bearers, 

each year. 


Wool. 

Amount at 2 lbs. 

per head. 


Value of wool at 20 
cents per lb. 


First 

Second 

Third 

Fourth 

Fifth 


1,000 
2,030 
2,416 
2,948 
3,679 


2,000 
4,060 
4,832 
5.896 
7,358 


$400 00 

812 00 

966 40 

1,179 20 

1,471 60 


Totals 




24,146 


$4,829 20 



The increase of the 1,000 ewes, at 75 per cent annually, would 
number 7,823 in five years, worth, at $2.25 per head, $17,601.75. 
Add this to the value of wool produced, $4,829.20, and the 



40 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



aggregate is 122,430.95 — not including the value of the original 
band. From this deduct expense of keeping and tending (aver- 
aged, as above stated, at 50 cents per head), $6,411.50, and there 
is left, as the net profit for the five years' operations, $16,019.45. 
Even this is a splendid result, showing, as the ancient Spanish 
proverb runs, that "Wherever the foot of the sheep touches, the 
land turns to gold/' 

But let the operation be conducted with the same number, 
breed and quality of ewes, under the better system of elevating 
the stock by crossing with fine bucks, and then see how much 
greater results will be realized, in a like period, on same basis. 
In the next calculation, the original 1,000 ewes are estimated as 
fleecing two pounds per head each year, and their increase 
(grades) three pounds each. (This is a reasonable estimate ; the 
second, third and fourth crosses would fleece from three and one- 
half to four pounds.) The price of the common fleece is counted 
at 20 cents per pound, as before, and of the grade fleece at 25 
cents. The value of the 7,823 head (increase) of improved sheep 
is estimated at $3 each, instead of $2.25, the price of the com- 
mon animal. Everything else being equal, the results would 
show as follows: 



STATEMENT 



Showing the yield in five years of 1,000 common Mexican ewes, crossed with 
pure Merino or Cots wold bucks. 



Years. 


| 

No. of w h ooR)earer S , 1 Amount ?t2°and 3 lbs. ^9^^L a «?° 
each vear. per head. ; and 2o cts " P er lb " 

1 


First 

Second 


1,000 
2,030 
2,416 
2,948 
3,679 


2,000 
5,040 

6,248 
7,844 


$400 00 
1,172 50 


Third 


1,462 00 
1 861 00 


Fourth 


Fifth 


10,037 2,409 25 




' 


Totals 




31,219 


$7,304 75 



To the above $7,304.75, add value of the increase (7,823 head 
at $3), $23,469, and we have $30,773.25 as the gross result in five 
years, without including the value of the original band, still on 
hand (less ordinary mortality, of course), or value of the bucks. 
From this $30,773.25 deduct expenses, as in first operation, 
$6,411.50, and $1,000 to cover difference in cost between common 
and pure-bred or high-grade bucks — total, $7,411.50 — and 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 41 

there is left, as a net profit on five years' operations, under the 
improved system, $23,361.75, showing a difference in its favor 
(over the old system) of $7,342.30 — seven thousand three hun- 
dred and forty-two dollars and thirty cents. The writer has in 
mind an instance in which one ranchman clipped 18,000 pounds 
of wool from 2,000 improved sheep, while a neighbor thought he 
was doing well in getting 8,000 pounds from the same number 
of low grades. " Blood will tell." 

Of course, improved sheep-husbandry- involves something 
more than high breeding alone. If the flocks of the western 
plains have heretofore made fortunes for their owners when left 
to almost shift for themselves from one year's end to another, 
without the benefit of sufficient prepared food or the shelter of a 
first-class hay-rick, they may be made to do better with extra 
provisions in these respects during severe winters. For every 
dollar expended in this direction by the master, the bounteous 
flock will return him two dollars in increased yield of wool, 
lambs and weight. In fact, no owner of good sheep can afford 
to neglect them. The best flocks of the future are to figure 
largely, not in mere numbers, like those of the principal New 
Mexican flock-masters, but in results — in superiority of their 
blood, giving weight of carcass, weight, fineness and luster of 
fleece, enhanced individual excellence, and consequent aggregate 
value. Smaller flocks, better care, larger returns, will be the 
rule of the future on the plains, as it already is among the best 
wool-growers of the east. 

To commence with a herd of 1,000 sheep — which is about x 
the average number started with — will require an investment of 
$4,000, as follows : 1,000 Mexican sheep, $2,000 ; 20 Merino rams, 
8300; corrals, cabins, etc., $500; leaving $1,200 for carrying on 
the herd until some income from the flock can be obtained. 
Mexican ewes are delivered at Cheyenne at from $1.75 to $2.25. 
Grade sheep, from fifty to seventy -five per cent higher, are rarely 
on the market. Mutton lambs sell in Cheyenne at $2.50 to $3 ; 
mutton sheep, $2.50 to $2.75. A home market for 15,000 sheep 
and lambs per annum is afforded by the Wyoming and Black 
Hills settlements. Wool is selling the present year at from 18 to 
20 cents per pound, or about two cents per pound higher than 
wool from the same sheep in southern Colorado and New Mexico 
commands. It is noticed that a much thicker and better quality 
4 



42 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

of wool is produced from the Mexican sheep a year after the 
animal has reached our Wyoming pasture-lands than was clipped 
two or three hundred miles farther south, the hair disappearing 
almost entirely and being supplanted by a clean, long and heavy 
coat of excellent fibre. 

Dairying. — In all official reports on the dairy interest in 
States east of the Missouri, we find that the great drawback men- 
tioned is the heat at just the season when the product is greatest. 
Along the base of our mountain ranges and among our sheltering 
foot-hills the extreme of heat is seldom known, and no matter 
how glaring may be the sun's rays, let the shade be sought, or let 
night approach, and a cool, refreshing temperature is at once en- 
joyed. It therefore follows that artificial auxiliaries, so neces- 
sary in the east, are of secondary importance where climate and 
grasses so nearly fill all conditions as they do here. As these 
artificial auxiliaries are always burdensome items of expense, it 
also follows that in dispensing with them, without sacrificing the 
quality or quantity of a product, an immense advantage is gained. 

Connoisseurs pronounce the first quality Wyoming ranch 
butter of as delicate flavoring and tint and as perfect an article 
in every way as the choicest eastern grades. Mark the difference 
in manufacture : The eastern product is the result of expensive 
scientific " petting " and unnatural forcing from beginning to 
end. Delicate grasses are carefully nurtured for pasturage; 
months are spent in putting up just the right kind of feed for 
winter sustenance ; fine breeds of cattle are stabled and cared for 
as though the effect of a zephyr was feared ; and the milk and 
butter is manipulated in costly houses with iced temperatures, 
and then the " gilt-edged" product, turned out by professional 
dairymen, sells in our markets at from five to ten cents per 
pound less than the article daily made at our mountain ranches, 
where the crystal stream, the native grasses and a delicious 
atmosphere are about the only auxiliaries asked by our modest 
ranchman, with his band of native cattle, his log cabin and his 
unsheltered corral. 

Following is an account of the operations of a Wyoming 
dairyman for a period of one year : 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 43 
INVESTMENT AND EXPENSE. 

Ranch site, buildings and corral $1,200 

Fifty American cows at $40, and two sires at $75 2,150 

Two assistants — wages and board 960 

Fifty tons of hay for winter feed at $6 300 

Conveying product to market, and minor expenses 200 

Total 4,810 

PRODUCT. 

14,000 pounds of butter, sold at 40c $5,600 

2,000 gallons of milk, sold at 30c 600 

Increase 34 calves, sold at $10 340 

Total 6,540 

Less investment and expense 4,810 



1,730 
The dairyman in question had the advantage of mining and 
lumbering camps for his market, otherwise he would have real- 
ized a few cents per pound less for his butter. To more than 
double capital, the first year may strike the reader as an excep- 
tional venture, but this experience is duplicated by hundreds of 
thrifty dairymen along the eastern base of the Eocky Mountains. 
Hundreds more will duplicate it in the near future, when these 
plain facts become more widely promulgated, and the underpaid 
husbandmen on worn-out soils beyond the Mississippi can be 
aroused by the knowledge of the golden opportunities lying un- 
appropriated in the new west. We have in mind another Wyo- 
ming dairyman who has realized a net profit of $2,600 in one 
season from the yield of eighty cows. 

Nearly 300,000 pounds of* butter have been consumed in 
Cheyenne alone during the past year. Of this amount it is 
estimated that three-fourths, or about 225,000 pounds, have been 
shipped from beyond Wyoming's borders — much of it a distance 
of a thousand miles. At an average price of thirty cents per 
pound we find that one Wyoming city alone is sending out of 
the Territory to eastern dairymen a tribute of nearly $70,000 
annually. A leading hotel keeper has assured the writer that 
ranch or home-made butter is always in demand at from five to 
ten cents per pound more than is asked for the foreign article. 
If eastern dairymen can manufacture butter at a profit, on land 
worth $50 per acre, where cattle must be fed and sheltered six 



44 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

months in the year, and ship it a distance of 1,000 miles to our 
market for thirty cents per pound, what may not the coming 
butter-maker of Wyoming look forward to, when, producing the 
same article at half the expense, he can sell it at home for 
thirty -five or forty cents per pound ? 

Eminent Authority. — Hon. Wm. D. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, 
in referring to our grazing resources in a letter to Dr. Latham, 
several years ago, said: "Your natural grasses and aromatic 
herbage are identical with those of the great sheep fields of Asia 
and Australia." Hon. William Lawrence has said : " I saw at 
Laramie, in Wyoming Territory, a herd of 4,000 cattle and some 
3,000 sheep grazing in Laramie valley, in healthy condition and 
good order. Laramie valley is covered mainly with a short but 
very nutritious grass, well adapted to grazing cattle and sheep. 
The climate is generally cool, with a healthful, bracing atmo- 
sphere, with nothing to produce disease either in men or stock. 
Sheep can be raised at no expense except herding, and in some 
places the cost of cutting grass along the streams for hay to feed 
a short time in winter; while in much of this vast region, as I 
learn, sheep can be kept the year round in good order, without 
hay or grain, simply by grazing. Already the prospect of sheep 
growing in this great central region is having its effects. It is, 
in my judgment, only a question of time, and that a few years at 
most, when sheep growing for wool will be transferred to this 
great central section." Hon. S. E. Nuckolls, a former Wyoming 
delegate to Congress, wrote in 1871: "As to my opinion of the 
character and capacity of Wyoming Territory for pastoral pur- 
poses, I would say, briefly, that the soil, grasses and climate 
render it eminently superior, especially for sheep. The soil 
absorbs the falling rain rapidly, while its lighter particles refuse 
to attach permanently to the fleece, affording a clip as clean 
without washing as in other countries with washing. The 
grasses are highly nutritious, cure on the ground, remain as per- 
manent food during the entire winter, and have better fattening 
properties than the prairie grasses in the more eastern and north- 
ern States. The position is elevated, the air pure, and the ground 
seldom muddy or soft. In addition to all this there are no burrs 
of any kind, which are such pests in other regions. Sheep are, 
therefore, healthy and free from foot rot and other distempers 
common to low, moist lands and rank, coarse food. They have 



STOCK-RAISING AND DAIRYING. 45 

been kept for the past twelve years about the military posts 
without trouble, and last winter some thirty thousand went 
through without shelter or food other than the grass on the 
ground. Cattle in large numbers are kept in the same way, and 
the cattle worked poor in freighting turned out in the fall are 
fat and ready for the yoke or the butcher when spring, comes." 
Alexander Majors, so long known as a stockman and freighter 
on the plains, expressed himself thus emphatically eight years 
ago : "I have been grazing cattle on the plains and in the moun- 
tains for twenty years. I have during that time never had less 
than five hundred head of work cattle, and for two winters — 
those of 1857 and 1858 — I wintered fifteen thousand head of 
heavy work oxen on the plains each Avinter. My experience 
extends from El Paso, on the Eio Grande, to one hundred miles 
north of Fort Benton, Montana. Our stock is worked hard dur- 
ing the summer, and come to the winter herding range thin. 
Then it is grazed without shelter, hay and grain being unknown. 
By spring the cattle are all in good working order, and many 
of them fat enough for beef. During these twenty years the 
firm with which I was connected wintered many cattle in Mis- 
souri and Arkansas on hay and corn, and I am sure the per cent, 
of loss of those wintered in all the valleys of the trans-Missouri 
country is less than it was in those States with food and shelter. 
All the country west of the Missouri river is one vast pasture, 
affording unequaled summer and winter pasturage, where sheep, 
cattle and horses can be raised with only the cost of herding." 

Wyoming contains 55,000 square miles of all-the-year pasture 
lands, with an additional area of 25,000 square miles of unex- 
celled summer grazing lands. Her 150,000 head of cattle and 
100,000 sheep have appropriated less than one-third of this 
gathered treasure of mountain and plain, and even in that 
liberal estimate have never fully utilized their range. Luxuriant 
carpets of gramma, bunch and blue grass, with many other vari- 
eties, nearly everywhere cover bluff, plain and valley, while in 
numerous localities the diminutive species of white and black 
sage, so eagerly sought by stock in winter, are added to the great 
variety of nutritious native shrubs. Sheltered and wooded val- 
leys are usually so conveniently interspersed that in time of 
storm the animals are enabled to avail themselves of much com- 
fort and good browsing by a few miles' travel. 



46 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

There are millions of dollars of capital rusting in the vaults 
of the east which might as surely be earning their twenty-four 
per cent per annum by investment in any of these branches of 
stock-raising as that we have mouths to feed and bodies to 
clothe. The requisites are, in a nutshell, careful study of the 
business, personal direction, and the same attention given that 
would be bestowed upon any legitimate business venture of equal 
magnitude. When men dispossess themselves of the notion of 
tarrying in the Far West only for a year or two, until they can 
make their fortunes, and then turn ungratefully from the land 
which has made them all they are 3 when they finally determine 
to live here, to create homes here, and add their means and 
influence permanently to the development of the country, then 
will the golden era of our prosperity be unmistakably ushered. 



CHAPTER IV. 



AGRICULTURE — THE POSSIBILITIES. 

THE great inducements offered by Wyoming to the agricul- 
turist .have always been apparent to those who have cared 
to inquire. But the tempting attraction of mines, the large 
profits realized in stock-raising, and the field for speculation gen- 
erally offered in such new regions, have, until quite recently, 
claimed the greatest attention. As well can the country pro- 
duce its bread as it produces its beef, and in the matter of mar- 
kets the farmer is here more favored than the stock-grower, for 
the simple reason that the former has always a home demand, 
while the latter depends largely upon a foreign market. 

Experiments have been made with the different cereals, veg- 
etables and small fruits in the different localities and under all 
ordinary conditions, with perfect success in almost every case. 
Near the western outskirts of Oheyenne, an old soldier, Major 
John Talbot, is showing what the upland soils at an altitude of 
over 6,000 feet will produce under good ordinary treatment. 
Fourteen acres are under cultivation, and on the well-kept plat 
may be seen every variety of the hardy vegetables, thousands of 
young shade and fruit trees and the tame grasses, flourishing as 
well as they could be made to do elsewhere. Wheat, oats and rye 
succeed admirably, and such small fruits as currants, cherries, 
gooseberries and strawberries have been bearing nicely for two 
seasons. Of the ten thousand young trees growing upon the 
grounds, such varieties as white ash, elm, soft maple, walnut, 
poplar and box-elder seem perfectly at home in their transplanted 
state. Over 70,000 pounds of potatoes were marketed from one 
third of the patch last season, and, with other vegetables sold, 
yielded the proprietor $2,000. Potatoes sold at two and one-half 
cents per pound, and other vegetables from three to five cents 
per pound. Cabbage, averaging twelve pounds per head, and 
turnips weighing from ten to eighteen pounds each, were mar- 
keted. The soil is a dark, sandy loam, very friable and mellow, 



48 HAKD-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

and usually requires irrigating only twice during the season. 
One man has done all the work, with plenty of time to spare. 

In the valleys of Crow Creek, Chugwater, Laramie, North 
Platte and Hat Creek, in the eastern part of the Territory, such 
results as the above have been attained in different instances. 
The growing seasons have been favorable and long enough to 
mature all crops save corn, and in a few cases the early, small- 
eared varieties have also been raised. In the central and western 
portions of the Territory, where the agricultural area is largest, 
more pronounced successes have been recorded, and much more 
progress has been made in the cultivation of the rich valley soils 
than elsewhere. In the Wind Eiver valley and its tributaries, 
and in the Bear Eiver valley, hundreds of ranchmen have been 
producing vegetables for their own consumption and the home 
markets for several years. Where wheat, rye, oats and barley 
have been experimented with the yield has equaled that obtained 
from the best farming lands of Utah or Colorado, and the almost 
entire absence of milling facilities alone prevents a very general 
production. The value of hay, vegetables and other strictly farm 
products marketed by Wyoming ranchmen this year will closely 
approximate half a million dollars. 

The valley and bench lands of Wyoming, capable of produc- 
ing crops common to this latitude, have a total area of 20,000 
square miles or aggregate nearly 13,000,000 acres. With unlim- 
ited natural facilities for irrigation, fencing and building mate- 
rial always convenient and unexcelled fertility of soil, there is no 
reason why a strictly agricultural population of 50,000 people 
should not flourish within our borders and supply to the min- 
eral-producing residents and non-producing population the food 
which otherwise must come from abroad. The soils are largely 
the washes and wear of the great mountain ranges. For ages 
our valleys and plains have been gathering their present accu- 
mulation of valuable decomposed °and pulverized organic matter, 
which is so largely drawn upon by vegetable growth. Those 
qualities which eastern farmers try to replace by plaster of paris, 
bone-dust, ashes, lime, etc., exist in lasting quantities in our 
alkaline earths. This fact and the dry, pure atmosphere account 
for the great superiority in all elements of nutrition of our 
grasses, grains and vegetable products over those of the States. 

From careful estimates made by grain merchants of Wyoming, 



AGRICULTURE, THE POSSIBILITIES. 49 

we find that 28,800,000 pounds of grain have been shipped into 
the Territory from Nebraska, Utah and Kansas during the past 
twelve months, not counting the immense quantities shipped 
hither by the government and used at military posts. At the 
average price of two cents per pound this costs us nearly $600,000, 
and taken from us about that amount of currency which never 
returns. This may seem a small matter, but the loss will be 
doubled in a year and quadrupled in two years if our non-produc- 
ing population continues to increase in such a proportion over the 
little band of producers. It is only one item, and it alone is 
thirty times greater than the entire amount paid for the main- 
tenance of our public schools, more than three times as great as 
the amount of taxes we collect from our 500 miles of railway, and 
four times as great as the amount invested in all the public im- 
provements of Wyoming. One-thirtieth of the arable soil of our 
hundreds of fertile valleys would easily produce this simple item 
and stop the serious leakage. 

Vegetables brought from the east or west, though far inferior 
to those raised here, sell at enormous prices, and the money sent 
out of the Territory for them runs up into the hundreds of 
thousands annually. Even along the line of railroads potatoes 
are commanding an average of two cents per pound the year 
round, turnips one to three cents, onions three to six cents, cab- 
bage three to seven cents, and other garden produce in propor- 
tion. In the mining districts such products are from 200 to 300 
per cent, higher. During the month of June, of this year, pota- 
toes sold in Deadwood, by the wagon load, for from twelve to 
fourteen cents per pound, and turnips at ten cents. Small fruits, 
which coming half-ripened and often unfit to eat, from distant 
States, command prices that would insure competence to whoever 
would engage in their production. The freight is often far more 
than the cost of production on all of these articles, and the in- 
quiring agriculturist can easily see that such an increase in the 
selling price of produce must always allow ample margin for 
profit to local producers. 

Irrigation has always seemed a stumbling-block to those who 
do not understand its advantages. But when once acquainted 
with the system few farmers would exchange it for the uncertain 
rains of moister climates. The first expense need not be greater 
than that of breaking up wild lands in the east, and the labor of 



50 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

irrigating being light and simple, crops can be watered at an 
expense not to exceed the percentage of loss on eastern farms by 
long continued rains or dronths. There is not half the trouble 
encountered in keeping out weeds by this system, and loss need 
never occur through storms after grain has been harvested and 
placed in shocks. In the early settlement of other sections of 
the west, before the art of irrigation was understood, farmers 
were laughed at for their attempts to raise anything in the " bar- 
ren sands." Yet today those faithful few are the wealthiest and 
most respected citizens of Colorado, Utah and Montana. While 
the thousands were risking everything on the richness of mines 
and were often losing, these tillers of the soil gathered up the 
waste and in the end received the tribute which must be paid to 
the producer of bread. 

An important drawback to the more rapid development of 
our agricultural and pastoral resources is the fact that our prin- 
cipal railroad traverses the most uninviting portion of the Terri- 
tory. Thus the great throngs of tourists and emigrants hastily 
passing through receive the impression that other portions are 
probably identical. From descriptive articles which follow, it 
will be seen that the now almost unknown and unappreciated 
Big Horn, Wind Kiver and Yellowstone regions are to furnish 
the bulk of arable lands for the sustenance of new communities 
in the northwest. They furnish the most beautiful and produc- 
tive valleys in the Eocky Mountain region, with millions of 
broad and fertile acres unclaimed, and to be had for the simple 
taking. After an attentive reading of our article on climatology, 
it cannot, be said that an extreme northern latitude renders our 
claims untenable. The few occupied valleys of Montana, all 
lying north of Wyoming's agricultural belts, and depending upon 
irrigation, produce nearly a million bushels of grain and potatoes 
annually, which, with other farm productions, sell at home for 
over two million dollars. 



CHAPTER Y. 



MINES AND MINING. 

AN entire volume like this could be judiciously devoted to the 

**■ description of a mineral region so extensive and varied as 

that embraced within the limits of Wyoming. Therefore, being 

confined to one short chapter, we can promise little more than a 

hasty tour and a glimpse of different districts and products. 

The Coal Fields. — The importance of the coal interest, either 
in a general or local way, was never more strikingly portrayed 
than in these words of Daddow : " If you would see what coal 
can do for a people who turn it to full account, look at Pitts- 
burgh, a city, with its environs, of 300,000 inhabitants, built up 
by its mines of coal. There are no drones in its hive — heads 
and hands are busy. It lost $30,000,000 by the rebellion without 
shaking its credit. Possessing in its coal the creative power, it 
stretches out its mighty arms and gathers the wealth of half a 
continent into its lap. It brings to its furnaces and forges the 
iron and copper of Lake Superior, glass-sand from New England, 
Missouri and Illinois, lead from Wisconsin and Missouri, zinc, 
brass and. tin from beyond the seas. You pass through its 
gigantic establishments and are amazed at the variety and extent 
of their perfected productions. Yet all these, from the most 
delicate fabric of glass to the ponderous cannon and steam 
engine, are in the coal which underlies the smoky hills of Pitts- 
burgh." It is said by statisticians that the power developed by 
coal imported into Massachusetts accomplishes more for industry 
than could be done if all the millions of men, women and 
children in the United States should devote themselves to 
manual labor. In Great Britain, says a reliable writer, ma- 
chinery moved by coal equals the man power of all the inhab- 
itants of the globe. 

However, the coal measures of Wyoming are given the prece- 
dence, not especially because of a belief that they will always 
lead the deposits of precious metals in importance, but because 



52 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

of their present advantages in the way of development and yield. 
As already stated, our known area underlaid by coal reaches 
24,000 square miles in extent. Drawing a line across the Terri- 
tory from east to west, one hundred miles from the southern 
boundary, then drawing another in a similar manner one 
hundred miles from the northern boundary, the reader can 
at once locate the principal portions of our coal-bearing belts. 
In different sections of this southern belt of one hundred miles 
in breadth by three hundred and fifty in length are located the 
largest bodies of coal yet discovered in the Union. Crossing 
northward over the central belt, of less than one hundred miles 
in width, we find the generally rougher region, in which fewer 
deposits of coal, but more of the precious metals, have been dis- 
covered. Then, reaching the extreme northern belt of one hun- 
dred miles in width, the natural coal-bearing formation is again 
very frequently encountered, and vast outcroppings of bituminous 
and semi-bituminous coals are noticed. 

We will first briefly review the southern belt, already exten- 
sively developed, beginning at the eastern end. Commencing at 
Cooper Lake, near the center of the Laramie plains and twenty-six 
miles northwest of Laramie city, a vein of soft coal, fifteen feet 
in thickness, has been discovered adjacent to the Union Pacific 
Railroad. The deposit is not worked at present, but its accessi- 
bility, extent and fair quality must combine to render it of para- 
mount value in the near future. 

Proceeding fifty miles westward to Carbon, we find the first" 
mines worked. Although inferior to the product of mines 
farther west, the coal is a fair sample of the tertiary brown kind, 
very compact and pure, and excellent for locomotive use. It is 
mined and used quite extensively by the coal department of the 
Union Pacific Railway, and is consumed to a limited extent by 
residents along the road. The average thickness of the deposit 
is ten feet. An analysis gives water 6.80, ash 8.00, volatile 35.48, 
fixed carbon 49.72. About 80,000 tons of coal have been pro- 
duced here during the past year. Other important but unde- 
veloped deposits are found at numerous points along the road to 
the westward. At Separation, Rawlins and St. Mary's the out- 
croppings are especially noticeable. 

At Rock Springs, 314 miles west of Cheyenne, are the exten- 
sive mines operated by the coal department of the Union Pacific 



MINES AND MINING. 53 

Railroad and the Excelsior Coal Company. The deposit owned 
by the railroad company consists of several veins from four to 
nine feet thick and is at present the principal source of supply 
for all points along the road as far east as Omaha. Owing to its 
excellent quality this coal is much sought for by adjacent States 
and Territories. For blacksmithing, smelting and steam-gen- 
.erating purposes the coals of this district compare favorably 
with the anthracite. 

The Excelsior mine, the property of Colonel E. P. Snow, of 
Cheyenne, and Blair Bros., Rock Springs, which is a part of this 
same general deposit, has, in years past, been considered more 
valuable and has been credited with yielding a better quality of 
semi-bituminous coking coal than is found elsewhere in the 
trans-Missouri regions. A natural discrimination, however, made 
against its owners by the railroad authorities, has served to limit 
yield and profit. The principal vein is ten feet thick and prac- 
tically exhaustless. The following analysis, made at the Massa- 
chusetts Institute of Technology, is far more favorable than can 
be exhibited by any of the tertiary coals of Colorado or Wyo- 
ming that have come to our knowledge : 

Ash (white) 1.55 

Hydrogen 4.75 

Carbon 76.00 

Sulphur 07 

Phosphorus 00 

Oxygen and Nitrogen 17.63 

100.00 dried at 100°. C. 

Coke 60.00 

Specific gravity 1.26 

The coke is compact and not easily crushed, and being prac- 
tically free from sulphur and phosphorus can be especially recom- 
mended for iron smelting. 

For the year ending June 30, 1877, these mines produced 
144,000 tons, or an increase of nearly 25,000 tons over the year 
preceding. Coal sells by contract on the track at from $1.55 to 
$2 per ton, and at outside points at an average of $5. One hun- 
dred and fifty white men and the same number of Chinamen are 
employed the year round. Engines, hoisting apparatus and in- 
terior arrangements are exceptionally complete and systematic. 

Still journeying westward with the glistening coal formation 



54 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

visible on the face of numberless bluffs, we find in the vicinity of 
Carter station, a point on the Union Pacific 388 miles from 
Cheyenne, some of the most remarkable coal measures yet dis- 
covered. One of these, known as the "Mammoth Sandstone 
Mountain Mine," has been traced and prospected for a distance 
of four miles. Throughout this length there are some fifteen 
veins, one lying above the other, with thin layers of sandstone , 
intervening. These veins are from five to sixty feet in thickness, 
and aggregate nearly four hundred feet of solid bituminous coal. 
The veins slope at an angle of about twenty-two degrees. The 
coal is free from slate or dirt and with the product of the Mam- 
moth mine, a similar deposit near by, must at some future period, 
when the demand for fuel is greater and transportation facilities 
are better, effect a revolution in the western coal trade. 

In the vicinity of Evanston, at the western boundary of 
Wyoming, are the most extensively worked deposits in the Ter- 
ritory, while within a days' ride of the city are a number of other 
magnificent veins of the softer coals. Two and one-half miles 
from Evanston, at the busy mining town of Almy, the Eocky 
Mountain Coal and Iron Company, the Union Pacific Company 
and S. H. Winsor, have made great progress in the development 
of the measures there found. The strata now worked by the 
Eocky Mountain Coal and Iron Company is simply enormous, 
being twenty-six to thirty-five feet in thickness and extending far 
back from the present openings, which already indicate a length 
of deposit of three miles at its face. The mines controlled by 
the Union Pacific Company and the Uintah mine owned by S. H. 
Winsor, are extensions of the above and produce coal giving the 
following analysis: Water 8.58, ash 6.30, volatile 35.22, carbon 
49.90. Four hundred men receive regular employment in the 
production and shipment of coal at these mines, two-thirds of 
them being Chinamen. Nearly 300,000 tons of coal are being 
produced the present year. A large percentage of this finds its 
way to Utah, Nevada and California, and the deposit is almost 
the exclusive supply of the Central Pacific Eailroad Company. 
From these statements it will be seen that Wyoming not only 
supplies her own citizens and railways with fuel, but almost the 
entire northern half of the trans-Missouri region as well. 

Forty miles north of Evanston is the Twin Creek coal mine, 
owned by the Wyoming Coal and Coking Company. This is 



MINES AND MINING. 55 

claimed to be the best coking coal produced, and that it will 
yield fifty per cent of coke. Coke being a most important desid- 
eratum in the vast mining regions of Utah, Nevada, Wyoming and 
Montana, this new industry will, without doubt, soon be second 
only to the production of coal itself. There are yet other de- 
posits worthy of note in this vicinity, but space forbids extended 
mention, and we must hasten to other topics. 

In the northern part of the Territory along the Cheyenne, 
Powder and Tongue rivers, the indications of vast coal deposits 
are even more general than in the southern belt just outlined. 
Bluffs, river banks and water-worn gullies in many localities 
plainly show the sparkling black seams protruding from between 
the soft sandstone, slate or other natural formations. Veins are 
frequently noticed running from four to ten feet in thickness. 
The quality of some of these coals has been tested in the camp- 
forges and fires of different military expeditions, with favorable 
results; and the writer is cognizant of one case in which loosened 
wagon tires were well set with fragments of the coal taken from 
the face of one of these deposits. During the occupation of Fort 
Phil Kearney, at the base of the Big Horn Mountain, in 1866-7, 
a fine vein of bituminous coal was opened in that vicinity, and 
used extensively by the garrison. 

Estimating from data furnished by the different companies, 
the amount of coal mined in Wyoming the present year will 
reach 524,000 tons, and at a low valuation will sell for $2,094,000. 
Nearly a million dollars are invested in actual improvements on 
the four principal mines, and the entire number of persons em- 
ployed in mining, handling and shipping coal exceed 800. 

In the important element of fixed carbon, the Wyoming coal 
is superior to all bituminous or semi-bituminous coals of the 
Union, and the product of the best mines very closely approaches 
the anthracite, as the following comparative statement, made 
from the most careful analysis, will show. Only the best mines 
in other States are quoted : 

Fixed Carbon. 

Excelsior mine, Rock Springs, Wyoming- 76.00 

Rock Springs mine, Rock Springs, Wyoming 54.46 

Van Dyke mine, Rock Springs, Wyoming 53.23 

Evanston and Unita mine, Evanston, Wyoming 49.90 

Carbon mine, Carbon, Wyoming. 49.72 

Briggs mine, Boulder, Colorado 47.30 



56 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

Baker mine, Boulder, Colorado 50.65 

Osage mine, Osage, Missouri 51 .16 

Monte Diable mine, California 44.90 

Brier Hill mine, Youngstown, Ohio 62.66 

Belleville mine, Illinois 54.60 

Lehigh mine, Pennsylvania (anthracite) 89.15 

Beaver Meadow mine, Pennsylvania (anthracite) 91.47 

The Precious Metals. — Concerning the development of these 
interests, Colonel Stephen W. Downey, an old-time citizen of 
Wyoming, says : " Prior to the organization of the Territory, 
discoveries of rich mineral deposits had been made about the 
sources of Sweetwater river, in the Wind Eiver Mountains, on 
the head-waters of Big Horn river, and on the tributaries of 
North Platte, in Medicine Bow Bange. From these discoveries 
the hope was entertained here, and the opinion prevailed abroad, 
that Wyoming was about to take prominent rank as a bullion- 
producing Territory. Such hope and opinion received a sharp 
check by the unfriendly action of the United States government 
in its persistent, though tacit sanction and support of American 
savages in their hostile incursions upon the miners in established 
camps. These marauders compelled not only the abandonment 
of work begun, but also a total cessation of all prospecting through 
central and northern Wyoming, between the Black Hills and Big 
Horn river. The mining interests of Wyoming have thus been 
crippled for nearly a decade. The recent impetus which these 
interests have received is due largely to the military expedition 
under Custer, made in the year 1875, «which gave the public 
some glimpses of the rich deposits of gold in the Black Hills. 

"Although the Black Hills are the grand central objective 
point of treasure-seeking immigration, they are by no means the 
only point in or near Wyoming sought, and, within the current 
year, to be prospected for gold and silver. Many already, from 
the east and from the west, some with capital and some without, 
are going into the Medicine Bow mineral districts, on the head 
waters of the Laramie and Platte, in the Bock Creek, Elk Moun- 
tain, Brush Creek, Centennial, Last Chance and other districts 
southward to the bprders of Colorado, these all being in the same 
mineral belt which, in Colorado, has yielded so much treasure. 
Others are seeking, again, the Sweetwater region, from whose 
rich mines prospectors and miners were driven by hostile Indians 



MINES AND MINING. 59 

in 1869, and from which, by similar causes, they have been kept 
until the present time. From this very region I hear of com- 
panies numbering several hundred each moving northward 
toward the Big Horn. All indications point to the early dis- 
covery and development of the most prominent mineral-produc- 
ing localities in Wyoming." 

We shall, in this chapter, refer more especially to the districts 
in the southern and central portions of the Territory, leaving the 
Black Hills and Big Horn regions for special articles. Among 
the most important gold and silver belts in Wyoming is that in 
the southern part tributary to Laramie City. The region is 
almost wholly undeveloped, and consists, first, of the districts in 
or near the Medicine Bow Mountains, including Rock Creek 
Placer Mining district, Centennial, Sheep Mountain, Big Lara- 
mie and Last Chance, or Douglass districts; and second, of the 
North Park region, extending across the borders of Colorado to 
Hahn's Peak and the Rabbit Ear range. 

The Rock Creek district is about forty miles northwesterly 
from Laramie City, on or near the old overland stage road. It 
was discovered late in 1876 by prospecting the dirt in the old 
stage road, since which ditches have been constructed to lead 
water from Rock Creek to one of the bars, and the locators are 
now prosecuting work with the hydraulic. 

The Centennial district, as its name implies, was opened in 
1876. One quartz claim in the district yielded about $20,000 
during last summer. Several additional ledges have been dis- 
covered and promise very fairly, their large deposits of ores 
assaying an average of $100 per ton, but are thus far only 
slightly developed. The district is about thirty miles due west 
of Laramie, by an excellent natural road. No prospecting has 
been done for placer gold. 

Sheep Mountain district is near Centennial. Several silver- 
bearing lodes have been discovered on this mountain, one of 
which has a shaft 100 feet in depth, showing very rich ore. Ores 
assaying as high as 2,000 ounces silver per ton have been taken 
out at different depths from eighty feet downward. The other 
claims thus far discovered here are undeveloped and no reduction 
works are convenient to utilize the large deposits of wonderfully 
rich ores. 

Southeast of Sheep Mountain and also about thirty miles 



60 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

from Laramie, is the Jehu Mountain and Big Laramie Quartz 
and Placer Mining District. Gold was carried largely by the 
quartz near the surface, but is being rapidly displaced by silver 
as depth is attained. A shaft 100 feet deep on one of the mines 
discloses a four-foot vein of "pay rock," averaging nearly 100 
ounces silver per ton, with occasional streaks of sulphates of 
silver assaying 1,600 ounces. A quartz mill is beiug located in 
this district the present season. Large deposits of copper, assay- 
ing $110 per ton, are also found here. Extensive placers are also 
found adjacent, which need only a small outlay of capital to 
prove exceedingly productive. 

Beyond the district last named, and forty miles southwesterly 
from Laramie, is the Douglass Creek or Last Chance district, 
containing rich gold quartz and placer mines. The placer gold 
consists largely of nuggets, and is remarkable for its purity, being 
960 to 975 fine. Kich free-gold quartz ledges were discovered 
here late last season, on some twenty of which development has 
been progressing since, and pay-material has been found on 
nearly all from the grass-roots down. Four companies now 
operate the principal mines with gratifying success. The first 
stamp-mill will here soon be put in operation. Over 300 tons of 
ore, assaying nearly $300 per ton, are now on the dump of one 
of these mines awaiting treatment. These districts, it should be 
remembered, are upon the outskirts of an extensive unprospected 
mineral-bearing region. 

On the borders of North Park, commencing sixty miles from 
Laramie, rich discoveries have been made of auriferous quartz, 
argentiferous galena and ruby silver. Some of these give promise 
of mineral wealth equal to the best districts of Colorado. Their 
remoteness from railroad communication and reduction works, 
and lack of capital, have thus far impeded their development. 
There is unquestioned foundation for the belief that this vast 
region, when once understood, will offer an attractive field for 
the investment of capital in exceptionally remunerative mining 
enterprises. The most remote of the districts mentioned are 
within seventy-five or one hundred miles of Laramie city. 

The quartz-mining region tributary to Rawlins, near the 
center of the Territory, has in years past attracted considerable 
attention, and, with the new impetus now being given the mining 
interest, are again materially swelling the yield of bullion. Thirty 



MINES AXD MIXING. 61 

miles north of the town are the Ferris and Seminole districts, 
in which large deposits of gold, silver and copper-bearing ores 
are found. The ores carrying silver are almost identical in char- 
acter and accompanying formation with the White Pine mines 
of Nevada. Over a hundred claims have been located, and about 
a dozen true fissure veins are now being developed. Selected 
specimens of ores from some of these have assayed as high as 
82,000 per ton, while quantities are raised which yield from $100 
to $200 per ton silver. In a dozen of the mines carrying a large 
percentage of gold, beautiful specimens of free gold quartz have 
been taken ; and in such as the Ernest, Mammoth, Break of Day, 
and Slattery, gold is disseminated in large proportions through 
the well-defined veins. Only one stamp-mill has been placed in 
operation here, and this is a very rudely constructed and incom- 
plete affair. Good wagon roads connect these districts with the 
railroad, and one of the best routes to the Big Horn Mountains 
lies across them. 

The quartz and placer mines of the Sweetwater and South 
Pass districts, lying from 100 to 150 miles north of Green Eiver 
city, have been more thoroughly developed and have furnished a 
greater yield than those in any other section of Wyoming. In 
the early discovery of the principal mines, some ten years ago, 
the outcroppings of quartz for miles were so distinctly visible, 
and some of the gulches were so extremely rich, that the mining 
excitement was at fever heat, and thousands of prospectors, who 
were looking only for grand bonanzas, flocked thither. This 
mass, with its wild expectations, soon drifted away, disappointed 
because richer gulches were quickly worked out, and the absence 
of proper milling facilities rendered quartz mining generally un- 
desirable. Then, constant Indian depredations frightened away 
both miners and capital until the once noted region was almost 
unheard of. The mining region proper covers an area of about 
2,000 square miles in the Sweetwater mountains and spurs of the 
Wind Eiver range, and many gulches are yet unworked which 
will pay from four to seven dollars per day to the man with the 
hydraulic. From one of the quartz mines 8200,000 were taken 
the first year of its discovery, and six or seven are still yielding 
large wages to the few who faithfully stand by them. Eight 
quartz mills, running thirty stamps, are in operation on the free 
gold ores, and will produce about $125,000 the present year. 



62 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



Mine owners have been generally poor to start with, and have 
worked at great disadvantage, both on account of Indian troubles 
and the total lack of outside capital to assist in developmen t. 

For the benefit of those treasure seekers who come west with 
barely capital enough to reach their supposed Eldorado, it may 
be well to note that there are thousands of square miles of rich 
mining area in the southern and central portions of Wyoming 
practically unappropriated. Lying, as this area does, within easy 
distance of railway, and rendered less speculative on account of 
its nearness to varied interests already developed, the prospector 
of limited means can often find other dependencies to look to. 
For those who have $250 to $500 and upward, it is believed that 
no more attractive mineral field can be found. Capitalists look- 
ing for investment, and prospectors with means sufficient to outfit 
and supply them for a season, are especially recommended to 
visit and explore the fields above specified. 

Following is a carefully compiled statement of the mining 
interest of Wyoming for the present year, compared with the 
official figures of 1870. In the estimates of both quartz and 
placer gold about one-half the yield is contributed by quartz and 
placer mines in the Black Hills known to lie within the limits of 
Wyoming : 



Coal 

Gold, quartz 
Gold, placer. 



Totals 



Capital Invested. 



1870. 



$250,000 
11,000 



$261,000 



1877. 



,000 
78,500 
130,000 



$858,500 



Product. 



1870. 



1877. 



$800,000 i $2,096,000 



50,000 



$850,000 



215,000 
600,000 



$2,911,000 



Iron. — Wyoming is no less bountifully supplied with iron 
ores than with coal for their utilization. These deposits lie in 
various sections of the Territory, contiguous to railway, coal, 
water and forest. One of the largest deposits of iron ore in the 
Union is that found near the headwater of Ohugwater Creek, 
forty miles north of Cheyenne, and twenty-five miles from Lara- 
mie City. The ore is a black, crystalline magnetic, yielding as 
high as sixty-eight per cent of iron, and the deposit is simply a 
vast mountain, literally inexhaustible. Of this, Prof. Hayden 
has said: "Near the sources of the Chugwater are some very rich 



MINES AND MINING. 63 

iron mines, which may prove of great value to the country in 
future. In the winter of 1859-'60, while attached to the explor- 
ing expedition of General W. F. Raynolds, I made a trip to the 
sources of the Chugwater, and found great numbers of these worn 
masses of iron ore, but not until a comparatively recent period 
were they traced to their sources in the mountains. The ore is 
located much like that in the Lake Superior region. . . . The 
quantity of ore in this locality appears to be unlimited. Thou- 
sands of tons have been washed down into the valley of the 
" Chug," and distributed among the superficial drift. It will be 
seen by the analysis that the ore is very rich in metallic iron, but 
it is supposed that it will be reduced with some difficulty. Prof. 
Silliman is of the opinion that the brown ore or limonite can be 
employed with it as a flux with favorable results. Should the 
time ever arrive when this ore is absolutely demanded by the 
country, it will be easily accessible from numerous points. It is 
probable, however, that the branch railroad from Cheyenne to 
Montana will create a demand for these mines, and then the ore 
can be taken down the valley of the Chugwater with ease." In 
Stansbury's Report, page 266, the following occurs : " In the bed 
of the Chugwater, and on the sides of the adjacent hills, were 
found immense numbers of rounded black nodules of magnetic 
iron ore, which seemed of unusual richness." 

Following is the analysis of this ore, as made by Mr. J. P. 
Carson at the school of mines, Columbia College. Mr. Carson 
was an assistant in the Hayden survey in this region of 1868 : 

Sesquioxide of iron 45.03 

Protoxide 17.96 

Silica .76 

Titanic acid 23.49 

Alumina 3.98 

Sesquioxide of chromium 2.45 

Sesquioxide of manganese 1.53 

Lime 1.11 

Oxide of zinc 47 

Magnesia 1.56 

Sulphur 1.44 

Phosphorus a trace 

Fe 45.49 99.78 

Near Rawlins, on the line of the Union Pacific, are immense 
deposits of red oxide ores, already becoming extensively utilized 



64 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

in the manufacture of paint. Commencing two and one-half 
miles north of the city, there are small mountains which are 
little less than solid masses of the metal, and careful prospecting 
farther to the north warrants the conclusion that large bodies of 
the same material extend for miles in that direction. The Raw- 
lins Metallic Paint Company have invested some $25,000 in 
opening the mines, building paint works and establishing facil- 
ities for shipping. Another corporation has also invested quite 
extensively in an adjoining claim. Over 25,000 tons of the ore 
have been mined by the company first named, a large proportion 
of which has been shipped to Utah as a flux for smelting pur- 
poses. About 200 tons of metallic paint have been manufactured 
and found to be of very superior quality, as the following analysis 
and testimonials will show : 

Water 0.12 

Gangue 0.72 

Sulphur aud lime 0.14 

Sesquioxide of iron 9.02 

10.00 

Superintendent Stevens, of the Union Pacific Car and Build- 
ing Department, says : " Allow us to bear testimony to the value 
of the Rawlins Metallic Paint manufactured from Rocky Mount- 
ain iron ore. We use it exclusively for painting box and flat 
cars, iron and tin roofs, and buildings on the line of this road ; 
have found it a valuable preservative of wood, and the very thing 
so long needed for repairs of leaky roofs, for while it is cheap as 
a paint, it fills up all nail holes and leaks, and becomes virtually 
an iron-covering — perfectly impenetrable to water. We are sat- 
isfied that it will cover more surface, pound for pound, last 
longer and retain its color better than any paint before the pub- 
lic." The president of the Cooper Engine Company, Mount 
Vernon, Ohio, writes : " Our painter says the Rawlins paint is 
the best he ever used. We use it on castings mostly, and are 
highly pleased with the finish." About a severe test of this 
paint the master painter of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 
Company's car works says : " I have had your iron paint in test 
for about six months, and find it one of the best, if not the best, 
iron paints I have ever seen. I put two coats of it, mixed with 
boiled oil, on a piece of sheet-iron and buried it in strong brine 




A SIMPLE QUESTION OF PRIORITY. 



MINES AND MINING. 67 

about six months ago, and it has stood the test and does not 
show any signs of rusting through the paint. I have also used 
it on locomotive work and find it covers far more surface than 
any iron paint I have used." 

The paint is made dry, is naturally reddish-brown in color, 
and is sold in car-load quantities at $50 per ton. Thirty-five 
thousand tons of the ore are now at the track at Rawlins await- 
ing shipment to Utah. The home company deserves no little 
credit for thus utilizing so much of our latent wealth as their 
means and scope will allow. 

Other valuable deposits of iron ore are found in the north- 
western part of the Territory and in the Laramie range, on Sa- 
b-ille Creek. Hematite ores occur near Cheyenne, Laramie City 
and other points. 

Soda, MarNe, Petroleum, etc. — Among other interests of a 
different though somewhat kindred nature, and which give 
promise of growing within a few years to gigantic proportions, 
are the remarkable and inexhaustible deposits of native soda, in 
the forms of sulphates and carbonates, and of marble, in the 
southern-central part of the Territory, as well as the oil wells 
and the wonderful mine of sulphur near the western end. 

About eleven miles southwesterly from Laramie City is a 
cluster of lakes exceeding 100 acres in area, consisting of solid 
beds of pure crystallized sulphate of soda of many feet in thick- 
ness. The following carefully prepared document, from the pen 
of Colonel Stephen W. Downey, of Laramie City, will give read- 
ers a thorough appreciation of this grand resource : 

Laramie City, Wyoming, July # 5, 1877. 
Robt. E. Strahorn, Esq., Cheyenne, Wyoming: 

Dear Sir, — With reference to the deposits of native soda existing in this 
Territory, I have the honor to state that attention was especially directed 
to them by a cube of the material taken from the principal one near this 
place last year, and exhibited at the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, 
attracting much attention. The cube exhibited contained over two hundred 
cubic feet of solid crystalline sulphate of soda almost chemically pure, and 
as it exists in its native state. Its constituent elements, as well as I can 
ascertain, are, by weight, as follows: 19.4 per cent of soda and -24.8 per 
cent of sulphuric acid, constituting 44.2 per cent of sulphate of soda, the 
residue being the water of crystallization (55.8 per cent). 

This sulphate fuses in its own water of crystallization at a slightly ele- 
vated temperature, and by maintaining a temperature of 91%° Fahrenheit 
for a short time the material would part with its original water and recrys- 



68 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

tallize in an almost anhydrous state. The material in the cube, which is as 
it exists in the deposit, having crystallized below 68° Fahrenheit, contains 
the maximum of water. In this form it effloresces in the air and its crystals 
soon fall to powder. Had crystallization taken place at a higher temperature 
(but under 91^°), a hydrated sulphate would still have been formed, but with 
less water, and the crystals would have been unalterable in the air. Such 
being the characteristics of the material, I proceed now to a description of 
the source of supply. 

The deposit whence the sample mentioned was taken covers an area of 
more than one hundred acres, being a solid bed of crystallized sulphate of 
soda about nine feet thick. The deposit is supplied from the bottom by 
springs, whose water holds the salts in solution. The water rising to the 
surface rapidly evaporates, and the salts with which it is impregnated readily 
crystallize in the form mentioned. Upon removing any of the material the 
water rising from the bottom, tills the excavation made, and the salts crys- 
tallizing replace, in a few days, the material removed. Hence the deposit is 
practically inexhaustible, and it now contains about 50,000,000 cubic feet of 
chemically pure crystallized sulphate of soda ready to be utilized. 

Soda is most valuable in the form of carbonate, although its sulphate, 
also, has its uses. Neutral carbonate of soda is a salt of vast importance, on 
account of its uses in the arts, and the production of this salt is a desidera- 
tum. For a long time it was only obtained from the lixiviation of the ashes 
of sea- weed — inland plants affording salts of potassa principally, while in 
marine plants salts of soda preponderate. 

Spain formerly produced the greater part of the carbonate used in Eu- 
rope, called barilla and sometimes Alicant or Malaga soda. It was after- 
ward largely prepared on the coasts of Scotland and Wales and among the 
Hebrides. In the Peninsula the source of supply was limited, and among 
the rocky crags of the Western Isles it was a difficult task to gather the sea- 
weed, principally the algse and fuci, by whose incineration the lixiviation of 
the residual ashes and repeated manipulation, four per cent of soda may be 
obtained. The supply from these sources being so limited,' and the cost so 
excessive, early in the present century, chemists, encouraged by the French 
government, made many attempts to manufacture the article from other 
materials. After many unsuccessful attempts and fruitless experiments a 
process was discovered by Le Blanc for the conversion of chloride of sodium 
into carbonate of soda, and it is to this process that we mainly owe our 
present supply. 

The soda consumption of the United States amounts to some 250,000,000 
pounds a year, all of which is imported at an outlay of about $47 in gold 
per ton, besides the duty, which is, I believe, about 20 per cent ad valorem, 
making $56.40 in gold per ton, at sea-board. Here is a staple article which 
is imported at an outlay of $7,000,000 annually, whereas we have within our 
borders the material for its production in greater purity and abundance than 
it exists elsewhere, and there is no reason why we should not supply the 
domestic demand and also foreign markets. 

Le Blanc's process, to which reference has already been had, consists 
first in converting the chloride of sodium into sulphate of soda by the in- 



MINES AND MINING. 69 

i 

troduction of carbonic acid, and then in substituting carbonic acid for the 
sulphuric acid, which is done by heating together, on the brick hearth of a 
reverberatory furnace to the point of fusion, materials in the following pro- 
portions by weight, viz. : 1,000 anhydrous sulphate of soda, 1,040 carbonate 
of lime, and 530 charcoal. The reaction taking place in such manner that 
two equivalents of sulphide of calcium, combining with one equivalent of 
lime, form an oxy sulphide of calcium, perfectly insoluble in water, the water 
dissolving out only the carbonate of soda. 

As the material of our native deposit is already sulphate of soda, we 
may dispense with the first and most expensive part of Le Blanc's process, — 
the production of sulphate of soda from chloride of sodium and sulphuric 
acid. All that we have to do is to convert the sulphate of soda into the 
carbonate, and here the latter part of that process seems precisely adapted to 
the purpose and could be conveniently adopted here, charcoal and limestone 
bemg cheap and abundant in the immediate vicinity. A Marseilles re- 
verberatory furnace, such as is used in England and France for the purpose, 
with the necessary appliances, buildings, etc., for works with a capacity 
of one ton per day, of the anhydrous carbonate, would cost 'not to exceed 
$10,000, and the capacity might be increased for less than 50 per cent 
additional for each ton of increased capacity. 

Now, by a calculation based upon the atomic weight of the combining 
elements, it is ascertained that for the production of one ton (2,000 pounds) 
of anhydrous carbonate of soda there are required, — 

2,665 lbs. of anhydrous sulphate of soda. 

2,815 lbs. of carbonate of lime. 

1,013 lbs. of charcoal. 

6,493 lbs. of material, 30 r 8 ff per cent of the sum of the combining 
equivalents being carbonate of soda. The above proportions differ but 
slightly from those of the Le Blanc process, which has undergone a thorough 
practical test, so that we have a safe basis upon which to estimate the cost 
of production. About 56 per cent of the commercial carbonate being the 
water of crystallization, after making due allowance for waste in manipula- 
tion, one ton of the product as above will form two tons in a crystallized 
state. Hence for the production of one ton of commercial carbonate of 
soda, — 

1,332 lbs. anhydrous sulphate of soda, costing $1 33 

1,407 lbs. carbonate of lime 70 

506 lbs. charcoal 2 50 

3,245 lbs. material, costing $4 53 

besides transportation to works, the average cost of which would be about 
$1 per ton=$1.62. Manipulation, it is estimated, would cost $10 per ton, 
and packages, say $3.50. Summing up, we have for 

material mined $4 53 

transportation to works 1 62 

manipulation 10 00 

packages, etc 3 50 

amounting to $19 65 



70 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

per ton of product worth, as hereinbefore stated, $56.40 in gold per ton, 
assuming- that the article would be worth as much here as it is at the sea- 
board. Making no allowance for the premium on gold, which at current 
quotations would compensate for the interest on the capital to be invested, 
we would have a net profit, on the cost of manufacture, of $36.75 per ton, 
or 187 per cent. 

And here it might be well to state that the deposit is convenient to lines 
of transportation, being only about eleven miles from this point on the great 
trans-continental railroad, the intervening country being a hard and level 
plain, affording an excellent natural road-bed, with grass and abundance of 
good water at convenient intervals. And also, in passing, I might mention 
that the United States Penitentiary, containing about seventy-five (75) con- 
victs, is located here and at the most convenient point for works. By em- 
ploying convict labor, which might be obtained for fifty cents per day (a 
rate as low as the lowest of foreign cheap labor), the cosfc of production would 
be reduced far below the estimate given. 

Hence, we have a resource here, in addition to our mines of the precious 
metal, which offers a most promising opportunity for the profitable and safe 
employment of capital in an immense industry. And as the resource is 
inexhaustible, the cost of production such as to preclude successful compe- 
tition by the importers, and other deposits of equal extent, and affording 
material of equal purity, cannot be found in this country, we may reasonably 
hope for the establishment of an industry here whose product will supply 
the entire soda trade of the United States, giving employment to a thousand 
hands, saving millions to the people and enriching its proprietors. 
I remain yours truly, 

Stephen W. Downey. 

Sixty miles north of Eawlins are two soda lakes, almost 
equally valuable, and now estimated to contain 125,000 tons of 
carbonate of soda crystallized and held in solution by the waters. 
Calculating upon the low basis of $45 per ton as the net price 
of this commodity, these lakes would yield from their present 
supply of water and crystallizations nearly $6,000,000. By build- 
ing five miles of wagon road through the Seminole mountains 
these lakes could be reached in a distance of thirty-five miles 
from Eawlins. 

The marble quarries belonging to the Wyoming Marble Com- 
pany, located twenty-five miles north of Laramie City and twelve 
miles from Cooper Lake station, on the Union Pacific railway, 
are among the wonders of our latent resources. A ledge eighty 
feet wide has been traced for two miles on its surface and has 
been prospected to a depth of 100 feet without reaching the 
bottom. The surface rock is very fine in grain, but naturally 
discolored by long exposure to the weather. In penetrating sue- 



MINES AND MINING. 71 

cessive layers, however, the rock has gradually purified in color 
until it is a glistening white, and has lost all trace of seams or 
the partially decomposed texture more common on the top. 
Specimens now on exhibition at the office of the president of the 
company, Wm. H. Holliday, Laramie City, have a beautiful 
crystallized sparkle, and possess all the rich finish of the finest 
Vermont marble and the solidity and compactness of the best 
American granite. 

Eegarding the quality of the marble taken from the surface, 
when the deposit was first opened, J. Pfeiffer & Son, St. Joseph, 
Missouri, probably the best authorities in the west on marble, 
write : " We have dressed the samples of Wyoming marble and 
are much pleased with their appearance. ... If the main body 
of the marble is as good as these samples, we should prefer it to 
Vermont marble for monumental work. Any of it would be 
handsome for store or residence fronts. This is the view we take 
of it while chiseling and polishing it." The superintendent of 
the Northwestern Marble and Granite Company, Chicago, says : 
" The sample of stone sent by you is received, and we have worked 
it down and polished it. We find it to be what is called ' marble 
limestone' — that is, the stone that comes from the surface, and 
which generally covers the real marble. We think that by quar- 
rying further down you will strike the ' real thing/ probably as 
good as they have in Vermont." Henry Wilson, the widely 
known importer and dealer in marble, St. Louis, has this to say 
of the surface material : " The specimens are received. . . . The 
rock takes a faint, greasy, flinty polish, but cuts as nice and 
clean as statuary marble." Of course it will be remembered that 
these tests were made from surface layers, and that the specimens 
by no means represented the quality of the marble as it is found 
at" the bottom of the quarry. A fine vein of richly variegated 
marble of the delicate bluish tracery, is also found in the deposit. 

The proportion of really first-class building stone in the 
United States is very small, and outside of this deposit no avail- 
able marble, worthy of the name, is found west of Vermont. 
Joliet, Illinois, building stone is going into public buildings at 
Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, and has been shipped even 
farther west. Cincinnati freestone has been similarly used a 
thousand miles from the quarries, while Maine furnishes granite 
for the extensive government buildings at St. Louis and else- 



72 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

where in the Mississippi Valley States. Vermont marble sells in 
every city of the Union, and is almost daily shipped across the 
continent past our inexhaustible quarries — producing as good 
an article — to the Pacific slope. This trade in marble and fine 
cut stone in the United States amounts to over $10,000,000 an- 
nually, and the production is largely confined to the seven States, 
Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio 
and Illinois. An ordinary grade of Vermont marble sells at any 
of the Missouri river towns at $6 per cubic foot, while the same 
quality from our Wyoming quarries could be laid down at similar 
locations at $3 per cubic foot, at a handsome profit to the pro- 
ducer. We have enough marble in these quarries to build the 
State-houses of the Union, and enough of the more beautiful 
grades to share with Vermont and Italy the marble trade of the 
whole land, reaping as an income therefrom five or six million 
dollars annually. 

The oil-bearing shales and numerous deposits of crude petro- 
leum found in Wyoming are worthy of especial note. Ten miles 
east of Evanston, at the Bear-river crossing, and at a point 
known ever since the California stampede as "White's Oil 
Springs," is an oil-bearing stratum, destined at some day to rival 
the best similar formation of Pennsylvania. Surface oil in the 
vicinity has always been draining away in copious quantities, and 
has been found superior to the best of heavy lubricating oils for 
stationary machinery or locomotive engines. The well-known 
shale above and sand-rock stratum below, are identical with the 
formations of eastern oil regions, and the unmistakable surface 
indications are traced from northeast to southwest for a distance 
of twenty miles. Mr. E. L. Pease, of Evanston, formerly for years 
identified with the oil-producing interest of Pennsylvania, looked 
this ground over carefully, in 1869, and was so firmly impressed 
with its value that he at once secured an interest, returned to 
Pennsylvania, secured the necessary machinery for boring, and 
soon had his enterprise in working order. At a depth of 175 feet 
the first layer of sand-rock was penetrated, and a better flow of 
oil obtained than was ever known at a similar depth in the east. 

But on account of large lumbering interests previously ac- 
quired, and other calls upon his attention, Mr. Pease was com- 
pelled to be away much of the time. The work fell into incapa- 
ble hands, drills were fastened into the rock and broken off, aud 



MINES AND MINING. 73 

other valuable portions of machinery and casing shattered. While 
reluctantly giving up his favorite project for a few years, this 
gentleman has always carefully guarded his interest, and is now 
on the eve of bestowing upon it the attention merited. Im- 
proved machinery will soon be introduced upon the scene, and 
the work will be pushed with the best system and vigor. 

Within half a mile of the deposit are inexhaustible quantities 
of coal and other auxiliaries necessary to refining. Petroleum 
also exists in Green River Valley, near Eed Buttes, Bridge r, and 
at several other points easy of access. Immense quantities of oil- 
bearing shale near Green River City, are found to yield at the 
rate of thirty gallons of good merchantable lubricating oil per 
ton. Oil can be shipped from Wyoming east to the Missouri 
river, and west to the Pacific Coast and Sandwich Islands in 
competition with Pennsylvania oils ; and to show the importance 
of such production, even in a local way, it need only be stated 
that nearly $200,000 worth of refined and crude petroleum are 
consumed in Wyoming annually. Then it should be remembered 
that each of the adjoining States and Territories furnish a mar- 
ket for from twice to four times as much more. 

On Hayden's Fork, a tributary of Bear river, forty miles 
southeast of Evanston, is a wonderful mass of sulphur. A vein, 
forty feet wide, and carrying from fifty to ninety per cent, of 
sulphur, has been prospected for 300 feet up the side of a large 
mountain. A United States patent has been secured on the 
property by a company of enterprising western gentlemen. The 
deposit can be reached by wagon-road in twenty-three miles from 
Hilliard, on the Union Pacific. 
6 



CHAPTER VI. 



FOREST PRODUCTIONS. 

PUBLISHED statements of Wyoming's forest area have 
varied greatly, and in the case of the estimates sent broad- 
cast by the Department of Agriculture, in its latest annual 
report, the extent has been sadly underestimated. Instead of 
5,000,000 acres, as stated in the report of 1875, the Territory 
contains more than 15,000,000 acres of forest lands, from nearly 
every acre of which an average yield of merchantable lumber can 
be cut. Instead of being placed twenty-ninth, therefore, in the 
list of timbered States and Territories, Wyoming should be no 
lower than tenth. 

The forests are confined principally to the prominent ranges 
of mountains in the central and western portions, although 
quite an extensive area in the northern and northeastern parts 
of the Territory are bountifully supplied, even on the lower 
bluffs. Pine, spruce, cedar, fir and hemlock are the varieties pre- 
dominating in the mountains and bluffs, while along the streams 
Cottonwood, black ash and box-elder are the more prominent 
species. At present a variety of pine, common in the Eocky 
Mountain region, furnishes nearly the entire lumber supply. It 
is as white as the eastern pine, almost as hard -as the hardest 
spruce, and is nearly identical with the Norway pine in size and 
appearance. By lumbermen from Maine and California it is pro- 
nounced far superior in quality to the white pine native to those 
sea-girt sections, although trees rarely attain great size. While 
it contains more knots, this native variety is yet finer-grained, 
more dense and elastic, and takes a much more beautiful finish 
than the pine growing at lower altitudes either east or west. Six 
months are required to thoroughly season it in the open air ; but 
by that time, as a Wyoming lumberman expressed it to the writer, 
" it beats the world for outside work, for flooring, or for other 
hard usage." It has almost supplanted eastern finishing lumber 
in the cities of Wyoming. 




» II Sir 



FOREST PRODUCTIONS. 77 

The forests most extensively utilized at present are those 
tributary to Laramie city, along the Laramie and Little Laramie 
rivers; those along the North Platte and Medicine Bow rivers, 
adjacent to Port Steele and Medicine Bow stations ; those farther 
west, along Bear river and its tributaries, in the vicinity of 
Hilliard and Evanston, and those in the central part of the Ter- 
ritory supplying the mining and stock-raising settlements of the 
Sweetwater and Wind River regions. The forests within a radius 
of forty miles of Laramie city are producing 2,000,000 feet of 
lumber, 2,000,000 shingles, 500,000 lath, 270,000 railroad ties 
and large quantities of fencing per annum. The lumber is sawed 
in the forests and hauled to the railroad, while ties, poles, etc., 
are floated down the streams to booms constructed near the 
track. Several stations near Laramie city, on either side, are 
shipping points for a portion of this product. Half a dozen 
companies, employing from twenty-five to fifty men each, are 
engaged in the industry in this portion of the Territory. The 
product is increasing annually. 

At Evanston and Hilliard, in the extreme western part of the 
Territory, three large companies, besides numerous smaller ones, 
are engaged in the manufacture of lumber and in the production 
of wood, ties and charcoal. The Evanston Lumbering Company 
alone produces nearly 2,000,000 feet of lumber per annum, and 
from a comparatively small beginning in 1869 has grown to such 
proportions that during the present year seventy-five men are 
regularly employed, and 2,000,000 feet of logs have already been 
cut at its logging camps and placed in readiness for the summer's 
drive down Bear river. The company has improved the river 
channel to the extent of $10,000. The Hilliard Flume- and 
Lumber Company has constructed a flume twenty-five miles long 
from its extensive mills in the Uintah mountains to the railroad, 
at a cost of $200,000. Over 2,000,000 feet of lumber were used 
in the construction of the flume. This, continually filled with 
water tapped from Bear river, has proved even more desirable 
than a railroad for the transportation of lumber to its. point of 
final shipment, as its capacity is all that is required, and it 
performs its work with speed and rare economy. The business 
of this company the present year is large in both the production 
of lumber and of cord wood, — the latter being used principally in 
the manufacture of charcoal. 



78 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

At several of the points named, and at other stations along 
the Union Pacific, the production of charcoal has become a very 
important interest. Altogether eight or ten firms, operating 
some fifty kilns or pits, are thus engaged, consuming nearly 
50,000 cords of wood and producing 2,000,000 bushels of char- 
coal per year. The charcoal is used principally in the smelters 
of Utah, a small amount, however, being appropriated by the 
Hilliard smelting works. 

Following is an accurate statement of the value of Wyoming 
forest products for the year 1877 : 

Lumber, sawed $345,000 

Railroad ties, wood and fencing 455,360 

Charcoal 240,000 

Total $1,040,360 

Professional lumbermen, from the forests of Maine, are em- 
ployed by the principal companies. These receive from $4 to $5 
per day, while ordinary loggers and laborers get $30 to $40 per 
month and board. About 1,000 men are employed in this 
interest and in the production of charcoal during busy seasons, 
and two-thirds of the number find work the year round. Ordi- 
nary rough lumber sells at railroad stations at an average of $25 
per thousand feet; finishing lumber, $40 per thousand. The 
railroads and local markets consume nearly the entire product. 
It is estimated that these forests in southern Wyoming have in 
the past ten years supplied 7,000,000 railroad ties, which have 
sold for $5,000,000, and 50,000,000 feet of lumber, worth $4,500,- 
000, besides several million dollars' worth of wood, fencing, 
telegraph poles, etc.; and yet our best forests are practically 
untouched, and our market scarcely a tithe of what it will be in 
the near future when other resources are developed. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE MANUFACTURING INTEREST. 

IN Wyoming, as in other Eocky Mountain Territories and 
States, there exist hundreds Upon hundreds of germs which 
at no very distant day will give life to the grandest of manufact- 
uring enterprises, and make new cities quiver with proud activity. 
Nature paved the way along the western ranges for the sway of the 
forge, the shuttle and the loom as she never paved it in the older 
States and worlds. The resources of iron, coal, lumber and wood 
have always been among the first to enlist the attention of care- 
ful investors, and have yielded such men wealth and place, while 
they have clustered about them new interests, new dependencies 
and incalculable prosperity. 

Iron ores which rival the metals of Michigan and Missouri, 
forest productions second to those of no State, and pasturage 
soon to produce its millions in wool, hides and meat, are among 
the incentives here offered ; while for their profitable utilization 
are numberless well-distributed and unexcelled water powers, vast 
deposits of the finest coals, and already a market eager to con- 
sume a large home product. The very center and dome of the 
continent, Wyoming pays constant tribute to either the mills, 
foundries and machine shops of the far east, or else to the 
smelters of the west and south. Eailroads are not always modest 
in their charges upon our productions, which only journey far 
toward the rising sun to again return in due time, — once more 
well levied for transportation, — manufactured into staple articles. 
It is a broad assertion, but a true one, that a few of the eastern 
States are today swallowing the major part of the results of our 
best western enterprise and energy, with the inevitable sweep of 
a grand industrial maelstrom. 

From official statistics we learn that Massachusetts employs 
54,000 people in the manufacture of boots and shoes, annually 
consumes $40,000,000 worth of raw material, which is largely 
from the west, pays as wages nearly $30,000,000, and ships prin- 



80 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

cipally to western marts $90,000,000 worth of boots and shoes per 
annum. During the past year Wyoming has sent nearly $300,000 
worth of the raw material in this line, there or elsewhere worked 
up. To have tanned it, manufactured and sold it here, without 
paying the item of several thousand miles of transportation, 
would have built up a thriving little village, would have mate- 
rially stimulated productive enterprise, and would have kept six 
or seven hundred thousand bright dollars in continued home 
circulation. The manufacture of woolen goods in the same 
State gives constant employment to 20,000 operatives, who 
receive as wages and put into circulation annually over $7,000,- 
000, and convert $24,000,000 worth of wool into $39,000,000 
worth of cloths. Success is as sure to attend those who would 
engage in this business, if energetic and persevering, as it has 
those iron men of New England, who have made their barren 
and rocky country nourish through the industry of her looms 
and spindles. Nowhere do they produce a better article of wool 
than we can produce in these Territories. Only give us the 
machinery to transform it into fabrics for which we are sending 
thousands of miles. Our prosperity would then be well based — 
something that never fails — and add more wealth to the country 
than the sluice-box or silver veins, and be more evenly prosperous. 

There is plenty of surplus capital here that ought to be in- 
vested in spindles instead of- brocade silks and furbelows — the 
products of eastern looms and industry. No country in the 
world can compete with us in the production of wool, and we 
are enriching the east — piling wealth into the laps of those who 
are willing to use their money at a fair and steady profit, and 
giving work to thousands of men, women and children. We 
have heard it said that labor is too high to make it profitable 
business. Not so, for laborers here would work for as low a 
figure as in the east, if these products were as cheap, and the re- 
duction can only come through home manufactories. The east- 
ern imports are what enhance the price of living with us. Why 
is it that the scattering manufactures that are established about 
us, on a small scale, are standing up under the pressure of high 
wages for labor ? Their products are sold as cheap as you can 
buy imports of like quality, and they are giving employment to 
a limited number and keeping the money in the country. 

In Dr. Latham's eloquent and enthusiastic outburst upon 



THE MANUFACTURING INTEREST. 81 

this subject a few years ago, after describing the vast pasturages 
directly tributary to Cheyenne on the north, occurred these 
rather pertinent words : " This 6,400,000 acres of land would 
give ample pasturage to as many sheep or to all the sheep in the 
great State of Ohio, which annually produce 24,000,000 pounds 
of wool, valued at $8,000,000. It would also produce annually 
500,000 mutton sheep, worth in market $2,500,000. What would 
be the effect upon Cheyenne to be the entrepot for the trade inci- 
dent upon the growing and shipping (or manufacture) of 24,000,- 
000 pounds of wool, such as is used in making the lustrous 
black broadcloths and French merinos, or the growing of an 
equal amount of the long, silken, floss-like combing wools of 
England, and the shipment of 500,000 mutton sheep to market ?" 

The forges and furnaces of Pennsylvania, located 1,000 miles 
from their largest iron supply, employ 40,000 men, producing 
$120,000,000 worth of staple iron goods annually, and ship a 
large percentage of those staples across the continent, past our 
magnificent mountains of iron and over our vast depths of 
coal measures. When our incomparable pyramids of the base 
metal and our blackened strata of never-ending lignites are once 
utilized to supply even home demand we will have accomplished 
more than the conquering of a city. The crushing and smelting 
of ores carrying the precious metals must also eventually prove 
a great interest here. As much additional income could thus be 
saved to our miners as the amount of tariff now paid in trans- 
porting refractory ores to distant markets or smelters. It is sel- 
dom the small quantity of rich ores, bearing shipment abroad, 
which render mining regions prosperous, but it is the vast de- 
posits of loiv-grade ores, ivorked economically at home, which 
have given to most mining regions their permanent wealth. 

The production of soda from the wonderful deposits of native 
sulphates and carbonates in our soda lakes is already attracting 
attention, and must soon prove a large addition to our manu- 
facturing interests. As is elsewhere stated, these lakes are. capable 
of supplying the whole of the 250,000,000 pounds of merchant- 
able soda used annually in the United States, and can therefore 
keep in home circulation over $7,000,000 in gold which now an- 
nually goes abroad for the imported article. 

To these interests may be added the utilization of our quar- 
ries of marble, yet to astonish the world by their extent and 



82 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



beauty of product ; and of our deposits of iron oxides, from which 
a superior quality of paint sufficient to supply the entire West 
for an indefinite period can be economically manufactured. 

The writer has bestowed no little time and labor in compil- 
ing the following comparative table showing the progress of 
Wyoming in the manufacturing line : 

The official reports of 1870 were taken as a basis for comparison, but have 
been found very inaccurate in numerous instances. The hitherto almost 
total absence of statistics regarding the Territory's productions, compiled 
either by public or private enterprise, has rendered such work extremely 
difficult, and in a few minor cases — where principals in enterprises could not 
be personally visited by the writer — necessarily imperfect: 



Industries. 



Boots and shoes . . . 

Blacksmithing .... 

Brewing 

Bread, crackers, etc. 

Confectionery 

Charcoal 

Clothing, men's . . . 

Dentistry 

Drugs & chemicals . 

Gunsmithing 

Jewelry 

Lumber, sawed .... 

Lime 

Masonry, brick and 
stone 

Metallic paint 

Millinery 

Machinery, railroad 
repairing, etc 

Printing and pub- 
lishing 

Photography 

Quartz, milled 

Railroad ties, poles, 
posts and wood. . 

Saddlery and har- 
ness 

Tin, copper and 
sheet-ironware. . 

Sales of tanned 
robes, hides and 
furs 



Totals 



No. of 
Establish- 
ments. 



1870. 
4 
4 



?A 



1877. 
22 
31 



197 



Capital Invested. 



1870. 
$6,200 
108,500 



1,500 



10,500 
110,500 



590,500 

1,800 

' 46,666 

60,000 

13,900 



$1,149,400 



1877. 

$18,500 

185,000 

54,000 

21,500 

4,500 

54,000 

14,000 

2,500 

13,400 

3,000 

14,000 

241,000 

1,800 

9,000 
25,000 
18,500 

837,000 

32,000 
7,000 

78,500 



18,000 
22,000 



$1,674,200 



Product. 



1870. 

$41,640 
55,628 



8,500 



42,167 
268,000 



226,569 

6,000 

" 76,666 

110,000 

40,320 



$874,824 



1877. 

$78,400 

235,500 
80,500 
70,000 
19,300 

240,000 
50,000 
9,000 
18,000 
10,000 
51,000 

345,000 
4,940 

37,500 

5,000 

44,800 

1,429,420 

74,800 

24,900 

215,000 

455,360 

65,000 

58,500 



295,000 



$3,918,120 



THE MANUFACTURING INTEREST. 83 

• The very large increase noticed in the items of machinery, 
railroad repairing, etc., is due, to a considerable extent, to the 
product of the rolling mills. These have been established at 
Laramie City since the first report was made. In the estimate of 
quartz milled the yield of several mills in the Black Hills, known 
to be located in Wyoming, is included. That the manufacturing 
interest has here quadrupled in these half-dozen unfavorable 
years — while the whole country has been groaning under a 
gloomy depression, and Wyoming enterprise has been confined to 
one-fourth of its rightful scope — and that we have seen but the 
"beginning of the dawn," are facts plain and bright as the noon- 
day sun. 

It is a golden truth that home production is the only solid 
foundation for perfect and permanent prosperity. When the 
unnatural stimulus — received by young western cities and com- 
monwealths from their first flushed and enthusiastic comers — is 
gone, there is a universal casting about for genuine "under- 
pinning/' " What have we to show for all this stir and bustle, 
and what can we send abroad as an equivalent for the world's 
coveted dollars?" are the anxious inquiries. To enjoy such 
resources as are truthfully credited to Wyoming in these pages, 
and then to properly utilize those resources, must force homage 
and draw wealth. Proper utilization, then, is, in the end, the 
lever ; for in this fast age the hare, with all his advantages of 
speed, strength, elasticity and beauty, wakes up to find that the 
homely and despised, but energetic tortoise has long since gained 
the goal. 



CHAPTER Till. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY OF THE GREAT 
PLAINS AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONS. 

By George W. Coket, M.D., Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

IT is our purpose to present in this chapter a brief outline of 
the physical geography and climatology of the great plains 
and Eocky Mountain regions. A general knowledge of the 
physical geography of a country is indispensable in studying its 
climate, and it is impossible to consider intelligently the climatic 
conditions of any arbitrary political division, such as Wyoming, 
Colorado and Utah, without taking into account to % some extent 
the whole of this vast elevated region of table lands and moun- 
tains. 

The elevation and direction of these mountain ranges and 
their accompanying plateaus are the prominent physical features 
of the western portion of our continent. The bulk and elevation 
of these lofty mountain ranges and elevated plateaus, when com- 
pared with the bulk and diameter of the earth, appear very 
insignificant; yet, slight as it may seem, this element of altitude 
most powerfully affects the climate of these regions and the pro- 
ductions of organic life. If at the equator we ascend vertically 
until we reach an altitude of 18,000 or 20,000 feet, we find a 
region of perpetual frost. A difference then of a few thousand 
feet of elevation changes entirely the character of a country, 
other things being equal. These mountain ranges also influence 
more or less the direction and character of the winds and the 
distribution of rain. 

Mountain Formation. — The Pacific mountain formation ex- 
tends from the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges, which lie 
along the western border of the continent to the great plains 
that stretch away from the eastern base of the Eocky Mountains. 
This region comprises these two great marginal ranges, and the 
great plateau or basin that lies between them. The elevation of 
this plateau within the boundaries of the United States is from 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 85 

4,000 to 6,000 feet. In old Mexico it reaches an elevation of 
8,000 feet, while away to the north its elevation is only 800 feet. 
Unlike the plains east of the Rocky Mountains that have for the 
most part a smooth, undulating surface, the surface of this pla- 
teau through its whole extent is broken up by an infinite per- 
plexity of mountain spurs and broken ranges, while no less than 
five distinct and pretty well defined mountain chains extend 
across it from one marginal range to the other. Its surface is 
one vast net-work of mountain chains and broken mountain 
masses, interspersed with rivers made up of innumerable torrents 
that pour down the flanks and deep gorges of the mountains, 
fertile valleys, parks, or intra-mountain basins, fresh and salt- 
water lakes, sandy and alkaline wastes. This mountainous 
region covers about two-sevenths of the superficial area of the 
continent. Along the thirty-ninth parallel its breadth is about 
1,000 miles, and it extends from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to 
the Arctic Ocean, about 4,000 miles. 

The Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. — The Sierra 
Nevada mountains through the whole length of the State of Cali- 
fornia are lofty and continuous, presenting an almost unbroken 
front, with an average elevation of 10,000 feet. This "great 
sea-wall" perfectly shuts off the mild, beautiful climate of the 
coast. But little moisture ever surmounts its lofty crest, and the 
regions along its eastern base are extremely barren and desolate. 
The Cascade range, which extends along the coast through Ore- 
gon and Washington Territories and the mountains farther 
north, are uniformly low and broken, and the contrast between 
the county east of them and the regions east of the lofty Sierra 
Nevada is most striking. 

The Rocky Mountains. — This range is the main axis, or back- 
bone of the continent. It is known as the Snowy Range, the 
Sierra Madre of the Spaniards, and in Mexico as the Cordilleras, 
but is essentially one vast chain of enormous bulk and great 
elevation. It is composed of apparently distinct ranges, approxi- 
mately parallel and bound together by numerous cross ranges. 
From old Mexico northward to the north line of Colorado the 
crests of these mountains are uniformly high — 10,000 to 12,000 
feet — and the direction of the range is nearly exactly north and 
south. 

The most elevated region in North America is attained along 



86 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

this range between the thirty-ninth and forty-first parallels of 
north latitude, within the boundaries of the State of Colorado, 
and known as the Parks. These are immense irregular basins, 
walled in on all sides by lofty mountain ranges, and are three in 
number — the North, Middle and South Parks. 

The contrast of climate, soil and verdure between these 
mountain-locked plateaus, and the grand old desolate peaks and 
mountain crests that surround them, is without a parallel any- 
where else in nature. The surfaces of these plateaus are diversi- 
fied by innumerable streams fed by the melting snows of the 
mountains around them. The foot-hills and ridges that separate 
these water-courses are covered with a dense growth of pine, 
while the valley portion of the parks is clothed with luxuriant 
grasses and flowering plants of many species, and are extremely 
fertile. The elevation of these parks is from 9,000 to 10,000 feet 
and the area of each is about 2,500 square miles. 

In the vicinity of these parks, and standing about them like 
grim old sentinels, are some of the loftiest peaks of the Rocky 
Mountain range. The summit of Mount Lincoln attains an 
elevation of 17,000 feet; Pike's Peak, 14,216 feet; Long's Peak, 
14,056 feet; Gray's Peak, 14,251 feet. The average elevation of 
the range here is about 12,000 feet, and its base 6,000 feet. At 
the southern boundary of Wyoming the range trends rapidly to 
the north and passes across this Territory, Montana and the 
British possessions in a northwest course. It is here very much 
broken, and, through the whole extent of this Territory, appar- 
ently disconnected. Its summit and general direction is, how- 
ever, well defined. If we ascend the North Platte river and the 
Sweetwater and go on through the South Pass, the ascent is so 
gradual and the regions on either side so vast, with scarcely a 
mountain crest in sight, we can hardly appreciate that we have 
attained an elevation of more than 7,000 feet and are crossing 
the backbone of the continent through this immense gateway of 
the mountains. 

In the vicinity of the Yellowstone Lake, in the northwest 
corner of Wyoming, the range again attains an elevation of 
10,000 feet, but rapidly falls off, and through Montana is uni- 
formly low — 6,000 to 8,000 feet. Through the regions north 
of Montana the mountains continue to decrease in elevation, 
furnishing less obstruction to the warm winds that naturally 
flow across from the Pacific Ocean. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 87 

The Great Plains. — That vast treeless region that stretches 
away from the eastern base of the Kocky Mountains, known as 
the Great Plains, has an average width of about 450 miles, and 
extends from near the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. Its 
eastern boundary should be located about the 99th degree of west 
longitude. For purposes of accurate description this country 
should be divided into zones or regions of different elevations. 
The line which we have mentioned as the eastern boundary of the 
plains is very nearly the line of 2,000 feet elevation. Very little of 
the country west of that line will be found to have less than 2,000 
feet elevation, while very little of the country east of it has as 
great an elevation as 2,000 feet. Coming west from the Missouri 
river anywhere south of the Platte we shall find, as we approach 
that line, that a very considerable swell or terrace occurs in the 
surface of the plain ; that west of this a marked diminution in 
the annual rainfall occurs; that forest trees grow only in the 
valleys near the streams ; that vegetation is scant, and that the 
grasses of the plain dry up and cure on the ground during the 
latter part of the summer and early fall, and that agriculture 
without irrigation will be found to be impracticable. Along this 
line, north of the Platte, extending to the great divide between 
the upper Missouri basin and the slope toward the Arctic Ocean, 
changes in elevation, climate, etc., occur similar to those we have 
mentioned as occurring south of the Platte. 

Passing on westward in the regions south of the Platte, we 
shall find another very rapid increase in the elevation of the plain 
3,s we reach the vicinity of the 102d degree of west longitude. 
This swell or terrace is even more abrupt and marked than the 
other of which we have spoken, and its brow marks the line of 
4,000 feet elevation. From the base of this terrace flow out the 
Colorado and Brazos rivers of Texas, the Eed river of Louisiana, 
prominent confluents of the Canadian river and the Arkansas, 
-also the Kansas and Eepublican. From the headwaters of the 
Eepublican the line of this terrace is deflected rapidly to the 
northwest, and the Niobrara river, the White river and the two 
forks of the Cheyenne river that encircle the Black Hills flow 
out of its base. It is lost in the foot-hills at the south end of 
the Big Horn mountains, and the line of 4,000 feet elevation 
-continues close along the base of the mountains and among the 
foot-hills to the line of the British possessions and beyond. We 



88 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

have now reached the most elevated table-lands of the continent, 
and as we leave the line of 4,000 feet elevation and continue to 
travel westward in New Mexico, Colorado or southern Wyoming 
the ascent is gradual until the undulations of the plain swell up 
abruptly into the foot-hills of the great Snowy Range. These foot- 
hills are the outliers of the main range — they mask its crest and 
break and graduate its descent. Their surfaces are for the most 
part smooth and grass-grown to their summits, with here and 
there considerable forests of timber. At some points, however, 
they are rugged and abrupt, and crowned with rocky escarp- 
ments. The elevation of the base of these foot-hills is from 5,000 
to 6,000 feet. This most elevated region of the Great Plains is 
well watered, and the valleys of the streams where irrigation is 
practicable are rich and fertile, and it is on these elevated table- 
lands that about one-half of the population of the Great Plains 
and the Rocky Mountain regions is at present to be found — in 
New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming principally engaged in 
agricultural and pastoral pursuits. Almost the entire region 
of the Great Plains north of the Platte river falls within the 
lines of 2,000 to 4,000 feet elevation, and from the Platte to the 
British possessions are entirely within the Great Basin of the 
upper Missouri. It is in this region that the Black Hills, the 
Powder river and Big Horn gold fields are situated — it is here 
that a greater portion of the buffalo remaining are to be found 
in their original home, and it is here that the most numerous 
and warlike tribe of Indians that have ever existed on the conti- 
nent have roamed about at will until recently. This region of 
the Great Plains presents a more mountainous, uneven surface 
than the region south of the Platte. Its rivers are more numer- 
ous, its river valleys and mountain flanks are better timbered, its 
soils of valley, plain and hill-side are more fertile, and vegetation 
is everywhere more abundant. 

Climatology. — In discussing the climatology of any particular 
region of country, it is necessary to consider, to a greater or less 
extent, the climatology of the whole continent, especially that 
portion of it that is subject to similar climatic influences, and 
jalso that portion in the same latitude that is subject to different 
climatic influences. And it is often very necessary, and the 
source of a great deal of interesting information, to compare the 
climates of the continents, and also different portions of the con- 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 89 

tinents in the same latitudes. It is our purpose to speak in a 
geueral way of the climate of the Great Plains and the Kocky 
Mountain regions, and, closing this chapter, to speak particularly 
of the region specially under consideration in this volume. Al- 
though a great deal has been said in late years in a desultory 
way about the climate of the Kocky Mountain regions, the sub- 
ject is probably less understood than almost any other in reference 
to this country.* The climate of these highlands is entirely 
unlike that of the States east of the Missouri river, or that of the 
Pacific coast west of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Those 
regions are designated as having marine climates, being more 
fully under the influence of the great oceans than are the interior 
highlands which are designated as having continental climate. 
If these highlands, with their present latitude and altitude, were 
subject to the same climatic influences as the Atlantic coast of 
the continent, or the same as the Mississippi basin east of the 
Mississippi river, four-fifths of this important division of the 
country would be uninhabitable on account of the rigor oT its 
climate. But the influence of the great elevation of these 
regions, and even the high latitudes of portions of them, is over- 
come by other influences, as we shall see, making them not only 
habitable, but giving them a climate extremely healthful and 
pleasant, more so than that of the Atlantic coast of the continent, 
at the sea level, in the same latitudes. It is a fact well under- 
stood that degrees of latitude, or the distance of any given region 
from the equator, does not absolutely control its temperature, nor 
the other physical conditions that go to make up its climate. 
The western coasts of the continent in the northern hemisphere 
are found to be warmer than the eastern. This fact is due to the 
influence of the atmospheric currents, and the thermal currents 
of the great oceans in distributing the heat of the tropics to 

* The most distinguished author on climatology in the United States, wrote for a 
publication of 1874 as follows: " The mean temperatures for the winter are significant 
and valuable guides to the climate in its relations to vegetable and animal life. The 
absolute limit of the growth of grass is coincident with the isothermal line of 32°, which 
passes near Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Cincinnati and St. Louis — thence 
westward to Denver, north of Santa Fe, and northwestward past Salt Lake to the forty- 
ninth parallel in northern Oregon. Very little winter pasturage exists in all the regions 
north of this line, except in winters unusually mild." Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, all 
entirely north of the line above designated, had, according to the census of 1870, 177,000 
cattle and 10,000 sheep. Sheep are fed in these districts from five to fifteen of the stormy 
days of each winter, and no one any more thinks of feeding cattle, that graze on these 
plains the year round (except a few milch cows), than they think of gathering in herds of 
buffalo and feeding them. 
7 



90 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

these shores. The most remarkable example of the difference in 
the temperature between the eastern and western shores of the 
continents in the same latitude, is found between North America 
and Europe. The difference between eastern Asia and western 
North America is also very great. The isothermal line of 50° 
Fahr. leaves the eastern coast of Asia about the forty-second 
parallel — 2° north of Pekin, China. In crossing the Pacific 
Ocean it is deflected north about 8° and strikes the western coast 
of North America at 'the fiftieth parallel, 556 miles north of its 
point of departure from the eastern coast of Asia. Crossing 
North America, it is deflected southward to about the fortieth 
parallel — 10°, or 695 miles — passing near the city of New York. 
Extending across the Atlantic it shows its greatest deflection 
to the north, and reaches the city of London in latitude 51°, or 
764 miles north of New York city. The line of 40° shows still 
greater departures. It leaves the eastern coast of Asia at the 
forty-fifth parallel and reaches Sitka, Alaska, in latitude 57°, or 
834 miles north of the forty-fifth degree. And again it leaves 
the eastern coast of North America somewhere about Halifax, in 
Nova Scotia, latitude 45°, and is deflected rapidly -to the north, 
passing the south coast of Ireland, and on the western coast of 
Norway extends north of the Arctic Circle. At this point it is 
1,300 miles north of Halifax. England, situated 764 miles far- 
ther north, has a warmer and more equable climate than Long 
Island. Newfoundland, in the same latitude as the north of 
France, has a rigorous, cheerless climate. The interior of the 
island is barren and desolate. Where timber grows it is stunted 
fir, pine, birch and aspen, while large tracts of the country are 
covered with lichen and reindeer moss. 

Wheat never matures. In the same latitude in France the 
vine and fig are cultivated successfully, and all the fruits and 
cereals of the middle temperate zones of the earth reach their 
greatest perfection. The whole of Europe may be said to be in 
high latitudes. Madrid, in Spain, is a little north of New York 
city, and with a very slight exception the whole of Italy is north 
of the latitude of Philadelphia. Still the climate of Europe is 
very mild, compared with that of other portions of the globe in 
the same latitudes. This tempering of the winds, and this mild 
climate of Europe, is due to the influence of the gulf stream 
coming in from the heated regions of the tropics, whose vast 
flow of thermal waters constantly leave its western shores. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 91 

The surface of Europe gradually rises from its western coast 
until we reach the bases of the mountain ranges of the interior. 
The soft, balmy winds, heated by the gulf stream and laden with 
moisture, pass over the whole surface, giving to the north of 
Ireland the myrtle, blooming as luxuriantly as in Portugal,* the 
vine, the ivy and the geranium to central Europe, and even in- 
vading the realms of the winter king far up the sides of the lofty 
mountain ranges of the interior. Influences exactly similar to 
this prevail upon the western coast of our continent in a less 
marked but very considerable degree. The great equatorial cur- 
rent of the North Pacific Ocean — the Kuro Sivo, or Black Water 
of Japan — is analogous to the gulf stream of the Atlantic. The 
warm waters and warm humid winds of this vast tropical stream 
constantly coming in upou the western coast of our continent, 
give it a mild equable climate. To what extent this warm breath 
of the tropics influences the mountain regions and the great 
plains in the interior of the continent, we shall attempt to show. 
The effect of this great tropical current of the Pacific Ocean upon 
our western coast is, however, modified by conditions not met 
with on the western coast of Europe. Most important of these, 
and more important than all others, are the mountain ranges 
along our western coast. The coast range, so called, is low and 
of no consequence. The Sierra Nevada range is by far the most 
lofty and rugged, having but few passes and those very high. It 
extends, as we have seen, through nearly the whole length of the 
State of California. Its western slope is covered to a height of 
8,000 feet by a dense forest, which is succeeded by naked granite 
and perpetual snow. It shuts off most perfectly the mild climate 
of the coast from the interior. East of this mighty wall through 
the central portions of the State of Nevada, from the mud lakes 
of the north through the Humboldt desert and the great salt 
valley which extends to the south line of the State, and on south 
to Death Valley, in California, this whole region is extremely 
arid and barren. The small amount of moisture that surmounts 
the lofty crests of these mountains does so from January to May 
each year, during the rainy season of California, and during 
which time all the rains of this region fall — five to ten inches 
annually. At about the fortieth parallel of north latitude the in- 
fluence of the Japanese current begins to be felt. This fact is 

* Hunboll. 



92 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



evinced by the rapid increase of the rainfall of the immediate 
coast, as we advance to the north from San Francisco. It is also 
evinced by the fact that all along the coast, as far north as Vic- 
toria, the annual temperature is only a trifle lower than that of 
San Francisco, as the following table shows : 



Stations. 



San Francisco ...... 

Fort Reading, Cal.. 
Fort Orford, Or.... 

Astoria, Or 

Victoria, Vancouver 



North 


Annual 


Latitude. 


Temperature. 


37° 48' 


54.9 


40° 30' 


62.1 


42° 44' 


53.6 


46° 11' 


52.2 


48° 27' 


53.9 



Annual 
Rain-fall. 

23.50 
29.11 
70.59 
86.35 
83.19 



The rain-fall continues heavy and the climate comparatively 
mild along the coast to Sitka, Alaska, in latitude 57°, the annual 
temperature being 43° and the rain-fall 83 inches. About the 
forty-first parallel, near the north boundary of the State of Cali- 
fornia, the Sierra .Nevada mountains and the Coast Range unite 
by means of a short transverse range in which is situated Mount 
Shasta. From this point north through Oregon, Washington 
Territory and the British possessions, the Cascade and other 
ranges are comparatively low and broken. The country east of 
these mountains compared with that east of the Sierra Nevada 
presents a wide contrast. There we find an almost rainless re- 
gion — only five to ten inches falling annually, from January to 
May; here, an annual rain-fall of 12 to 16 inches distributed 
through nine months of the year. There, a region of arid des- 
erts, with few and unimportant streams of water that evaporate 
in their courses, sink into sands or fall into shallow mud lakes 
and evaporate, — none of them ever reaching the ocean; here, a 
region of innumerable mountain torrents that form mighty rivers 
that have broken through great mountain walls seeking the 
ocean. There, a treeless region, almost destitute of vegetation; 
here, a region of forests with vegetation abundant. The differ- 
ence between this region and that has been brought about by 
two causes — first, the Japanese current sending in its warm, 
humid winds upon the land, and secondly, by the mountain 
crests being less elevated and less continuous here than there. 
" The general system of atmospheric circulation is from west to 
east, all the upper volumes of the air steadily moving in that 
direction at all seasons; and this upper atmosphere constantly 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 93 

brings with it a vast volume of moisture evaporated from tropical 
seas. The trade winds of the equatorial regions, driven unre- 
mittingly over vast oceans of tropical seas at high temperatures, 
take up moisture far more rapidly than in any temperate lati- 
tudes."* These tropical winds accompany the Japanese current 
many thousands of miles, and as they approach the land their 
temperature is so rapidly lowered that vast quantities of rain are 
precipitated upon the immediate coast; the average amount at 
Astoria for a single year being equal to a sheet of water seven 
feet two and one-half inches deep. These warm winds passing 
over the great plateau, through its valleys, along its mountain 
flanks, across the comparatively low and broken rocky range in 
Montana and Wyoming and out upon the great plains, give these 
vast highlands a climate not only habitable but extremely salu- 
brious and pleasant. These same conditions extend over that 
portion of the great plateau, mountains and plains that lie north 
of Montana and Washington Territories, modified, of course, by 
the higher latitudes of those regions. 

Rain-fall. — These Pacific currents of air, after passing the 
Coast and the Cascade ranges, come upon the great plateau with 
their lower strata largely deprived of moisture. Passing over 
this region, and constantly coming in contact with mountain 
ranges and mountain peaks, they deposit during each year from 
12 to 16 inches of water in the shape of snows and rains ; and as 
they approach the more elevated regions of the Rocky Mountains 
they precipitate, during the latter part of spring and early sum- 
mer, considerable quantities of rain, and during the winter and 
early spring vast deposits of snow-fall in the mountains. Also 
during March, April and May, considerable quantities of wet 
snows fall upon the plains, always melting away in a few hours. 
These deposits of snow on the mountains are a kind of reservoir 
of moisture for the great plains during summer. They are 
melted by the warm sun of June and July, and fill the mountain 
streams at a time water is most needed for irrigation on the 
plains. At the same time large quantities of these mountain 
snows are taken up by evaporation, and, gathering into rain- 
clouds over the mountains during the middle of the day, come 
down over the plains almost every afternoon in beautiful re- 
freshing showers. All over the regions of the Great Plains proper 

* Blodget. 



94 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



the rain-fall is from 12 to 16 inches annually, — the smallest 
amount noted at any single point for one year being about 6 
inches and the largest amount 30 inches. The average rain-fall 
here, being about 14 inches, is one third that of the regions east 
of the Mississippi, which is set down at from 40 to 45 inches.* 
There it is distributed about equally over the year; here it is 
distributed as follows : for the spring months, 7 inches ; summer 
months, 4 inches; autumn, 2 inches; winter, 1 inch. The pre- 
cipitation of moisture during the cold season of the year is 
entirely in the shape of light, dry, fleecy snows, never covering 
the ground for any length of time. 

The following table is compiled from medical statistics of the 
United States army, the points compared being Forts Laramie 
and Bridger, Wyoming ; Salt Lake City, Utah ; Santa Fe, New 
Mexico, with Fort Independence, Boston Harbor. Mean num- 
ber of fair, cloudy, rainy and snowy days, with annual rain-fall, 
compiled from a period of ten years' observations : 



Stations. 



Fort Independence 

Fort Laramie 

Fort Bridger 

Salt Lake 

Santa Fe 



Fair. 


Cloudy. 


Rain. 


Snow. 


191 


157 


89 


22 


227 


120 


45 


29 


253 


1G1 


40 


29 


281 


76 


44 


46 


226 


103 


46 


27 



Rain-fall, 
Inches. 

39^ 

15M 

13M 

17 

17 



These figures would not be materially changed were the com- 
parison made between the above-named points and Chicago or 
Buffalo. It will also be remembered that comparing the density 
of the clouds of these highlands with that of the clouds of the 
sea-coast, the former will have a density about one-third that of 
the latter — a comparison of rain-fall and snow-fall of days will 
show about the same ratio. The most important facts deserving 
attention in reference to the precipitation of moisture over these 
regions is the abundant rains and wet snows of the months when 
moisture is most needed — the spring and early summer — and 
the extremely small amount of moisture precipitated in the form 
of dry snows during the cold seasons of fall and winter; and 
also the fact that there is no other region on the face of the earth 
that is subject to such small periodical rains, that is so little sub- 
ject to drouth or entire absence of rain. On the great plateau 

* Blodget. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 95 

the rain-fall is subject to much greater variations in reference to 
quantity. From the southern boundary of the United States 
northward to about the forty-first parallel, including the great 
basin of the Colorado river and most of the great Salt Lake 
basin, we have more nearly a rainless region than is anywhere 
else to be found in the United States. At points along the east- 
ern base of the Sierra Nevada mountains the annual rain-fall is 
reported as low as five and even three inches, and some seasons 
no rain or snow falling at all for a whole year. To the east, 
along the western slope of the Wausach mountains, eight, ten 
and twelve inches fall annually, and at Salt Lake City, which 
lies between mountain ranges, seventeen inches. The western 
slope of the Eocky Mountains in this region receives from eight 
to twelve and eighteen inches of rain annually. The confluents 
of the great Colorado river, the Green, Grand and Rio Gila, drain 
more than 1,000 miles of this mountain slope. North of about 
the forty-first parallel the rain -fall increases considerably from 
causes that we have mentioned, and it is probable will be found 
to gradually increase as we extend our observations northward 
through British Columbia. That this is so is evident from the 
greater number of lakes and running streams, and also the larger 
volume of water in the streams, together with great increase of 
forests and other vegetation throughout this region, as compared 
with the regions south of the forty-first parallel. 

Temperature. — The Great Plains and Rocky Mountain re- 
gions within the boundaries of the United States have an annual 
temperature ranging from 60° to 44°. Leaving the southern 
boundary when an annual temperature of 60° prevails, and pass- 
ing northward along the 104th meridian until we reach the 
vicinity of Fort Union and Santa Fe, near the thirty-fifth parallel, 
we find in northern and western New Mexico an extensive region 
with an annual temperature ranging from 50° to 47°. There is 
no other region in the United States, in this latitude, where so 
low a temperature obtains, except a very small extent of country 
in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. This region 
in New Mexico has an elevation of over 6,000 feet. Points near 
the thirty-fifth parallel are Santa Fe, temperature 50° ; Fort 
Union, 49° ; Fort Defiance, 47°. Points in the same latitude east 
of the Mississippi are Knoxville, Tennessee, temperature 55°, and 
Chappell Hill, North Carolina, 59°. In the same latitude on 



96 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

the Pacific coast, Monterey has 55.° The isothermal line of 52°, 
which reaches considerably south of Santa Fe and passes to the 
northeast by Fort Lyon across five parallels of latitude, from the 
thirty-fifth to the fortieth, intersects the latter south of Fort 
Kearney, Nebraska. From this point it extends nearly due east 
along the fortieth parallel to the Atlantic seaboard. Again, the 
isothermal of 52° passes northwest from the thirty-fifth parallel 
in New Mexico to the vicinity of Salt Lake, thence westward 
to Austin, Nevada, and thence across the Cascade range about 
the forty-first parallel on to the Pacific coast, and extends along 
the coast as far north as the forty-eighth parallel in the vicinity 
of Victoria.* The regions of the Great Plains and Rocky Moun- 
tains north of this line seem to be under entirely different 
climatic influences from those south of it. The regions south 
of it are the most arid and barren to be found on the conti- 
nent of North America, and west of the Rocky Mountains are 
fully under the influence of the South Pacific Ocean. The 
waters of the ocean from San Francisco as far south as the 
thirtieth parallel of north latitude are extremely cold, their 
annual temperature being 55°. The interior regions south of 
the thirty-fourth parallel have an annual temperature of 60°, 
and at many points in the deserts the extremes of summer reach 
118° to 121°. 

The winds coming in from the ocean find an atmosphere 
considerably warmer than they, and any moisture they may 
bring in the shape of clouds or fogs is at once dispelled, and the 
result is little or no rain-falls until the lofty mountain ranges of 
the interior are reached. This region west of the Rocky Mount- 
ains comprises southwestern New Mexico, Arizona, western and 
southern Utah, Nevada and eastern California. 

The regions of the Great Plains south of the isothermal of 52° 
and east of the Rocky Mountains are probably quite fully under 
the influence of the Gulf of Mexico, and is a country of high 
temperature of floods and drouths. This region consists of the 
western portion of Kansas, the western portion of the Indian 
Territory, western Texas, and eastern and southern New Mexico. 
The regions under consideration that lie north of the isothermal 
line of 52° seem to be, as we have said, under almost entirely 
different climatic influences from those south of that line. 

* See Temperature Chart, Vital Statistics, Census of 1870. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 97 

These regions within the boundaries of the United States com- 
prise eastern Oregon and Washington Territory, Idaho, a small 
portion of northern Nevada, eastern Utah, northern New Mexico, 
Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, western Dakota and western Ne- 
braska. Their annual temperature ranges from 52° to 44°. 
Some small unimportant mountain plateaus may fall as low as 
40° or even 36°, while the valley of the Columbia river east of 
the Cascade Mountains as far up as Walla Walla, and the valley 
of the Snake river as far up as Boise City, have the same tem- 
perature as the coast west of the mountains, 52°. We have seen 
that the climate of the Pacific coast from the fortieth parallel 
northward to Sitka, the Japanese current being felt in full force, 
is extremely mild, and that the warm currents of air that accom- 
pany this vast thermal stream pass on to the highlands, meeting 
comparatively little obstruction from the Cascade Mountains and 
other ranges in British Columbia. All over this vast highland 
region north of the fortieth parallel, extending to the Arctic 
Ocean, these Pacific currents of air are more important than all 
other climatic influences. They bring warmth and moisture, and 
carry the line of forest trees and other vegetation along the valley 
of the Mackenzie river far up toward the seventieth parallel of 
north latitude. 

" The mountain valleys of the Peace and Laird rivers, latitude 
56° to 60°, are thus influenced by the Pacific winds, and wheat 
and other cereals are successfully cultivated."* These regions 
are five to seven hundred miles north of the north boundary of 
the United States. In the vicinity of Salt Lake these Pacific 
currents of air begin to be deflected southward. They are prob- 
ably influenced by the Wahsatch and Uintah mountains, and are 
forced into the basin of the Colorado river and along the western 
base of the Eocky Mountains, as far south as the thirty-sixth par- 
allel in northern New Mexico. They carry to these regions, as we 
have seen, a lower annual temperature than is to be found any- 
where else in the United States in similar latitudes. It is thus that 
a considerable belt of country along the western base of the Eocky 
Mountains, from Washington Territory to northern New Mexico, 
is subject to exactly similar climatic influences, as the following 
table shows — Port Col ville, Washington Territory, being only 

* Sir Roderick Murchison, in Ross Brown's "Mineral Resources," 1868. Appendix, 
page 14. 



98 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



about thirty-five miles south of the line of British Columbia, and 
Fort Defiance, New Mexico, being only a short distance north of 
the thirty-fifth parallel : 



Stations. 


Latitude, 
North. 


Altitude. 


Temperature. 


Rain-fall, 
Inches. 


Fort Colville, W T 


48° 54' 
46° 32' 
43° 7' 
40° 46' 
35° 44' 


2,800 
3,148 
4,700 
5,030 
6,500 


45.60 
52.49 
46.00 
50.61 
46.76 


25 75 


Fort Lapwai, Idaho 


14 5 


Fort Hall, Idaho 


11 10 


Salt Lake, Utah 


17.19 


Fort Defiance, N. M 


16.64 







Crossing the Rocky Mountain range to its eastern base, in the 
vicinity of Santa Fe and Fort Union, we find climatic influences 
similar to those we have noted along its western base. Here we 
find a vast belt of country stretching away to the east from the 
base of the mountains, extending from Santa Fe to Fort Benton, 
Montana, and probably to the line of the British possessions, over 
all of which the same prominent climatic features extend. At 
Santa Fe this belt is probably 100 to 150 miles wide, and rapidly 
increases in width as we advance northward into the great basins 
of the Platte river and the upper Missouri, where it is 300 to 400 
miles wide. It extends from south to north over twelve to thir- 
teen parallels of latitude, 800 to 1,000 miles. The following 
table of stations, with their latitude, altitude, annual temperature 
and rain-fall, are points along the boundaries of this region. They 
are widely separated and are representative positions for vast 
areas of country. 



Stations. 



Santa Fe, KM 

Fort Union, N. M.... 

Fort Lyons, Col 

Denver, Col 

Fort McPherson, Neb 

Cheyenne, W. T 

Fort Laramie, W. T. . 

Fort Benton, Mon 

Fort Pierre, D. T 



Latitude, 
North. 


Altitude. 


35° 41' 


6.846 


35° 54' 


6,670 


38° 5' 


4,000 


39° 44' 


5,000 


41° 3' 


2,770 


41° 12' 


6,072 


42° 12' 


4.517 


47° 50' 


2,663 


44° 23' 


1,456 



Temperature. 



50.6 

49.14 

49. 

50. 

51.12 

48. 

50.1 

48.2 

51.9 



Rain-fall. 



17. 

19.24 

11. 

16. 

18.48 

16.20 

15.16 

12.50 

13.51 



It will be noticed that while there is a difference of twelve 
degrees of latitude between Fort Benton and Santa Fe and Fort 
Union, there is but one or two degrees difference between their 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 99 

temperatures. We have seen that a considerable portion of north- 
ern New Mexico along the thirty-fifth parallel is colder than points 
in the latitude east of the Mississippi. If, now, we compare points 
along and near the fortieth parallel, we find these highlands and 
points eastward along this line have the same temperatures. Salt 
Lake has a temperature of 50°, Denver 50°, Cheyenne 48°, Fort 
McPherson, Nebraska, 51°, Logansport, Indiana, 50°, Pittsburgh, 
Pa., 50°, and New York City 51°. Going north to the forty- 
seventh parallel and instituting comparisons along that line, Fort 
Benton has a temperature of 48°, Michipicoten, on one of the 
islands of Lake Superior, 38°, and Fort Kent, Maine, 37°. Fort 
Benton being 10° warmer than the former and 11° warmer than 
the latter, has the same temperature as Albany, New York, and 
Boston, Mass., these places being near the forty-second parallel, five 
degrees farther south. Fort Benton is two degrees warmer than 
Chicago, which lies nearly 500 miles farther south. By compar- 
ing the tables above submitted, and from what has been said, it 
will be seen that the climates of the great plateau and the Great 
Plains from about the northern boundary of the United States 
southward to the vicinity of the fortieth parallel are, in most re- 
spects, similar. The average temperature and rain-fall are iden- 
tical, while the extremes of each are also the same. Elevated 
mountain basins or regions of limited extent that are subject to 
peculiar local influences are, of course, exceptions to this general 
statement. The Pacific currents of air moving from west to east, 
coming upon the Rocky Mountain range, which extends from 
northwest to southeast, striking it where its crests are low and 
its acclivities gradual, are influenced by this vast mountain chain 
and forced south of the fortieth parallel over five degrees of latitude, 
carrying along both the eastern and western base of the moun- 
tains the climate of eastern Oregon, Washington Territory and 
eastern Montana. 

An important source of heat for these highlands is from 
the unobstructed rays of the sun. On account of the extreme 
dryness of the atmosphere there are few cloudy days. There 
is no sufficient growth of vegetation to protect the earth from 
the full force of the sun's rays, and from six to eight months 
of the year there is little or no moisture on the earth's sur- 
face, and consequently little or no evaporation, thus absorbing 
or making heat latent. As a consequence the daily range of 



100 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

temperature is very great. The earth's surface being rapidly- 
heated by the sun's rays during the day, is as rapidly cooled 
b)* radiation during the night. Anywhere along the base of 
the mountains a hot sultry night is a thing unknown. The 
plains become heated, and the atmosphere over them very much 
rarefied, during the day; the air from the more elevated regions, 
cool and bracing, comes down in gentle breezes during the even- 
ing, until the equilibrium of the temperature between the two 
regions has been restored. The hotter and more sultry the day 
the more certain will the night be cool and pleasant. A differ- 
ence of forty or fifty and even sixty degrees of temperature 
during twenty-four hours is frequently noted. The difference in 
temperature between winter and summer is less here than in 
regions east of the Missouri ; and while the extremes of tem- 
perature for the year are about the same, spells of low tempera- 
ture do not continue as long here as there. Owing to the 
extreme dryness of the atmosphere during the cold season of the 
year, men and animals do not suffer as much from a temperature 
of 20° below zero in this country as they do from a temperature 
of zero in a climate as moist as that of Chicago. The snow-line 
on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in the 
same latitude as the Park regions of Colorado, is 8,000 feet above 
the level of the sea. 

On the Atlantic coast, in the same latitude, on the Allegheny 
Mountains, the line of perpetual snow would be (were these 
mountains sufficiently high) 7,000 feet above the sea. In the 
Park regions of Colorado the snow-line is 12,000 feet above the 
sea. On the summits of these lofty mountains, 10,000 and 11,000 
feet above the sea, are to be found some beautiful open spots 
without a tree, and covered with grass and flowers surrounded 
on all sides by dense forests of pine. Just on the edges of these 
park-like areas considerable banks of snow may be seen during 
the whole summer, and, within a few feet of them, multitudes of 
flowers bloom, and even the wild strawberry seems to flourish.* 
In these open areas and in the more extensive parks, cattle graze 
for six months each year on lands from 9,000 to 11,000 feet above 
the sea. The high winds that are extremely prevalent all over 
these elevated regions are about the only unpleasant feature of the 
climate. The almost entire absence of moisture in them during 

* Hayden. Report of 1867 to 1869, page 83. 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 101 

the cold season of the year renders them much more tolerable 
than they would otherwise be; and while high gales of wind are 
common, hurricanes such as visit the Atlantic coast and the Mis- 
sissippi basin almost annually never occur here. The winds at 
these altitudes are fitful, but usually of short duration, and when 
moving as rapidly as at the sea level their force is very much less, 
as the atmosphere here is much lighter. 

Resources. — The physical conditions that go to make up the 
climate of a country have largely to do with deciding its value 
as a habitation for man. It is probable that pastoral agriculture 
will be the leading and most important industry of these moun- 
tain and plain regions when they shall have fallen fully under 
the control of civilized man. Mining and agriculture will also 
develop, we imagine, into proportions that no one now has the 
slightest conception of. Within the boundaries of the United 
States the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountain regions occupy 
an area of about 1,650,000 square miles, or more than a billion of 
acres, most of which is one vast pasture ground. Here the 
buffalo, antelope, elk, deer and mountain sheep — their numbers 
reaching far into the millions — have found their food winter and 
summer for untold centuries, grazing on these vast grassy tables 
as far south as the thirtieth parallel of north latitude, and as far 
north as Slave Lake, latitude 64°. The total number of horses, 
cattle and sheep in the United States, according to the census of 
1870, was 65,242,752. On these vast pastures, within the bounda- 
ries of the United States, each of these animals could have an 
area of over fifteen acres on which to graze, and one hundred 
million of such animals could each have an area of ten acres. It 
is no exaggeration to say that, with the care and attention of 
flock-masters and herdsmen, as great a number of horses, cattle 
and sheep could be subsisted winter and summer on these vast 
areas as are now to be found in all the States east of the great 
plains. The value of these animals could not fall short of a 
billion of dollars. Winter grazing all over these regions is no 
longer a problem ; that it is a great success is a fixed fact. The 
American people are, and have been, slow to comprehend the 
value and importance of these highlands as an integral part of 
the noble domain of the United States. It is within a decade 
that a distinguished and possibly a learned member of Congress 
from the great State of Ohio, said, in his place in the house, that 



102 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

the regions now comprised within the boundaries of Wyoming 
" were as broad and worthless as Sahara." Now this statement 
did not change one single fact in reference to Wyoming — it 
simply showed how little a man might know about some things 
and still be a member of Congress. All of the people of this 
country, and their ancestors from the earliest times, have inhab- 
ited countries of marine climates. They have never known any- 
thing of elevated regions with continental climates, and are 
constantly making comparisons between these arid regions and 
the country east of the Missouri and the Mississippi. Compar- 
ing these regions with those, they find no similarity, and conse- 
quently conclude that this country is a desert and worthless. 

One reason this country has been looked upon with great 
disfavor, and its grand resources very much derided and belittled, 
is due to the fact that no civilized people in the world's history 
have ever inhabited a region whose latitude, altitude and climate 
is similar to this. There is indeed no country on the earth 
corresponding perfectly with this in these respects. Even the 
elevated plateaus and mountain regions in central Asia, lying in 
similar latitudes, are, in many respects, dissimilar. That conti- 
nent and its elevated regions are much more extensive, the 
mountain ranges more lofty, and having an east and west direc- 
tion, in some cases shut off a tropical climate on one side, 
producing a cold, temperate climate on the other; or with a 
temperate climate on one side, have almost a frigid region on the 
other. They are also dissimilar in this, that they are much 
farther removed from the influence of the great oceans, while 
the highlands of this continent lie along near the shore of the 
greatest of the oceans. They have a much less precipitation of 
moisture, their vegetation is more scant, and their deserts more 
extensive ; all those regions being only cultivatable when irrigation 
is practicable, and there, like here, flocks and herds graze the 
year round on natural pastures. Glancing hastily over these 
vast areas of central Asia that lie between the thirtieth and the 
forty-ninth parallels of north latitude, nearly corresponding to 
the south and north boundaries of the United States, we find a 
region of elevated table-lands, plateaus and mountains, more 
than 1,000 miles wide from north to south, and extending 4,500 
miles from the Caspian sea east to the great Kinghan mountains 
of eastern China. The climate and general characteristics of the 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY. 103 

various regions of this vast country, its resources, products, and 
the condition of the people inhabiting it, have been but little 
known until within the last quarter of a century. We find here 
in these desert highlands of Asia everywhere finely developed 
races of men, brave, independent and high spirited, and who, 
though not a tithe as numerous, have often overrun and con- 
quered the most powerful nations of the lowlands. And when 
in time they have been conquered by the people of the lowlands, 
their subjugation has always cost vastly more than their vassalage 
was worth. They are generally as well educated as the people of 
the lowlands, schools of their kind are as numerous in propor- 
tion to population in Toorkistan, Afghanistan, Thibet, Cashmere, 
and even in Mongolia, where the country will admit of settled hab- 
itations, as in India or China. They are also as well versed in the 
arts and sciences as the other nations of Asia, many of their man- 
ufactures having for centuries attracted great attention in the 
markets of the world. Comparing the Asiatic races of these two 
regions, we readily perceive the influence the different climates 
have had upon them, and it is but fair to suppose that our own 
highlands, with their clear, elastic atmosphere and bracing, 
healthful climate, will produce here upon these plains and in 
these mountains a very superior race of people, noted for great 
physical endurance and mental power, despising alike all fetters 
of mind and body. 

Wyoming. — Being centrally located in the mountain and 
plain regions of which we have spoken, and north of the iso- 
thermal line of 52 degrees, Wyoming will require little special 
attention on the subject of her climate further than what has 
been already said. The Great South Pass, situated near the 
western boundary of the Territory, about equally distant from 
its north and south boundaries, has a very decided influence on 
the climate of the interior of Wyoming. The valley of the 
Sweetwater and the extensive basin of the North Platte are very 
fully influenced by the warm winds from the Pacific coast, and 
have from the first advent of white men into the country had 
the reputation of being one of the most desirable locations for 
winter grazing in the Eocky Mountain regions. This whole 
country would long since have been filled with flocks and herds 
had it not been constantly exposed to predatory raids from the 
Sioux. The Laramie Plains, in southeastern Wyoming, are a 



104 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

part of the park system of Colorado. The Kocky Mountain 
range, as we have seen, is deflected rapidly to the west and north- 
west at the southern line of the Territory. A considerable moun- 
tain spur continues almost directly north, known as the Laramie 
mountains, and terminates in the Laramie Peak about twenty 
miles west of Fort Laramie. Between this mountain spur and 
the main range is situated the Laramie Plains, a beautiful valley 
with an elevation of from 6,000 to 7,500 feet, and an extremely 
salubrious, healthful climate. It is watered by the Laramie 
river, which takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains among per- 
petual snows. There are no other peculiarities in reference to 
the climate of Wyoming worthy of mention except it be the 
increased rain-fall in the Black Hills. This short mountain 
range lies in the extreme northeast corner of the Territory, and 
extends from north to south one hundred miles. It stands up 
very abruptly in the midst of the plain two to three thousand 
feet. Clouds approaching it have their temperature lowered, and 
a very considerable greater rain-fall occurs here than on the sur- 
rounding plain — twenty to twenty -five inches falling annually. 
The same condition obtains in the Big Horn mountains and the 
Wolf mountains, where very extensive forests of pine are found. 
As we shall speak in a subsequent chapter of Wyoming as a 
health resort, we shall defer further remarks on the special cli- 
matic conditions of Wyoming until then. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MANNERS AND SOCIETY, WITH A FEW REFLECTIONS. 

OF manners and morals of western people generally, much is 
said that is far beyond the pale of truth. Nearly every 
eager itemizer, from the manager of a representative eastern 
paper down to the senseless and superficial scribbler for the east- 
ern backwoods press, comes to the new west with mind literally 
charged with glaring absurdities, and with an unyielding deter- 
mination to realize only those absurdities. Why this should be 
so is partially explained by the fact that eastern readers demand 
experiences from the western plains and mountains which smack 
of the crude, the rough and the semi-barbarous. To point out 
the reckless, rollicking traits of character, to tell of the marvel- 
ous and wild-cat speculations, and to describe the gilded dens of 
gaming and profligacy (which the writers only know of by hear- 
say), is magnificently popular. But to write of our model men, to 
enlarge upon their carefully conducted enterprises and to tell of 
our churches, schools and societies, — that would fall like a chilly 
drizzle after the glittering rainbow. 

It is also quite the fashion to create thrilling episodes from 
whole cloth, in which the savage plays a prominent part, and is 
valiantly assisted by the writer. While this does the new Terri- 
tory great injustice, and fills the emigrant with an unfounded 
dread, it still gratifies the popular demand ; and what matters it 
if a burning at the stake scene is laid on a level plain where wood 
does not exist and buffalo chips are scarce ? Or what matters it 
if more Indians than ever belonged to the tribes of America are 
concentrated along the Black Hills road ? That is what readers 
must have, and it is so comfortable and satisfactory to sit in one 
of the cosy Cheyenne reading-rooms and indite articles in which 
" armed to the teeth," " dangerous lookout on top of the coach," 
" redskins seen on every bluff," " the gory graves in Killemquick 
canyon," etc., are only mild expressions. 

Our settlements are full of odd characters, as are the eastern : 
8 



106 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

but it must be confessed that much of the devil-may-care 
manner and dress attributed to real frontiersmen belong to 
eccentric emigrants who have scarcely learned to distinguish our 
crisp, invigorating atmosphere from the heavy, enervating fluid 
they had just breathed beyond the Mississippi. The swagger and 
swell of a recent heavily-armed and buckskinned arrival is as 
commonly noted and of more disgusting originality than that of 
the worst "hoodlum" of the prains. And here is where the 
modern paragraphist shines. During the recent brief sojourn in 
our midst of the " funny man " on a prominent New York news- 
paper, he stepped up to a representative business man of Chey- 
enne and asked : 

" Can you point me out a real original westerner — regular 
frontiersman, you know, that shows the 'out west' character 
from head to foot ? " 

"Why, yes sir," replied the resident, "a good many of us 
here have been west from ten to twenty years. There's Judge 

C , owns that block of brick buildings over there — made his 

money in the stock business, and there comes Captain , 

that well-dressed man, you see — he has .fought Indians and built 
posts all over these plains ; and if you will come down to the 
bank I'll introduce you to " 

" Oh, pshaw ! Those are not the kind of men I'm hunting. 
Now here is a capital subject (pointing to a long-haired man clad 
in a greasy suit of buckskin, and leaning listlessly against a 
store-box). Now, come, I'll warrant that man is a dyed-in-the 
wool border genius, and he will answer my purpose gloriously." 

" That fellow ? Why, he came out here from Natchez about 
two months ago and called himself ' Buckskin Jack.' He has 
been loafing around ever since, eating free lunches, and is a first- 
class deadbeat. Those are not the kind of men to build our 
towns, raise our cattle and find the gold in the Big Horn 
mountains." 

" He suits me, anyhow," said the man of the glowing quill, 
"and I propose to interview him." 

The interview undoubtedly resulted in a thrilling narrative 
of border experience, for Jack had been west just long enough to 
distinguish a " tender-foot " and to learn how to manufacture 
sensational yarns." 

If the ambitious newcomer desires to appreciate thoroughly 



MANNERS AND SOCIETY. 107 

and report honestly upon the native intelligence and enterprise, 
let him try his own metal against it. If he wishes to do credit 
to Wyoming's manners and customs, let him — instead of un- 
earthing the outcasts and loafers, who often come from the dens 
of the east, a prey upon our prosperity — take as examples the 
large proportion in every community of earnest, thrifty western 
workers. 

It is not the case, as is often assumed in the east, that dis- 
tinctions in society — which are generally deemed essential to 
well-organized communities — are lacking here in the new west. 
As the merits and demerits of settlers are disclosed these distinc- 
tions inevitably appear here as elsewhere. In expecting to find 
boors and gentlemen upon a common social level the visitor will 
find himself happily or unhappily disappointed according to his 
own taste or disposition. Intelligence, industry, culture and 
integrity will be here found to draAv the lines of social distinc- 
tion as closely as anywhere. Churches and benevolent societies 
are as numerous in proportion to our population as elsewhere, 
w r hile schools are as plentiful and as well conducted. Lectures, 
libraries, public and private parties, and select assemblies for 
instruction, amusement and social enjoyment are all found here 
as well as in the east. The press of "Wyoming is perhaps more 
noticeable for its general excellence and thorough occupancy of 
the field than any other institutions. Numerous daily and 
weekly papers are published which would do credit to a popu- 
lation furnishing twice as many readers. Papers like these, 
beaming- with frontier news, furnishing well-filled columns of 
spicy editorials, and special and associate press dispatches, tell in 
language unmistakable of the morality, the intelligence and the 
thrift of communities. 

Wyoming stands out bravely in her support of universal 
suffrage. The better citizens, as a rule, are not only well sat- 
isfied with the measure which grants women the privilege to 
vote, but they are proud of it. The matter, so purely an experi- 
ment, has of course aroused liberal discussion, and from this 
many points of interest have been developed. Among these are 
the statements quite recently put forth by prominent officials 
and citizens of the Territory in answer to questions asked by a 
well-known local pastor. A few of these statements are appropos 
here. 



108 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

"At the time of the passage of the law creating female 
suffrage, the project was opposed by a large majority of the 
people of Wyoming. The enactment was an experiment, and 
intended as such. At the next session of the legislature an 
attempt was made to repeal the law; but it failed, in conse- 
quence of the change of sentiments of the people upon the 
subject. . . . Since that time no serious attempt has been made 
to repeal the law. It is now no longer a political question. The 
attempt to repeal the law would now be a much more unpopular 
move than its original enactment. The most bitter enemies of 
the system have, by reason of its beneficial results in actual 
practice, become its warmest advocates. . . . 

" Eight years' experience has shown that evil associations at 
the polls or in politics, on the part of ladies, is the result of 
choice, as in every other relation in life, and not of necessity. . . 
The women are not contaminated or degraded in any respect or 
degree by the exercise of their political rights, but, on the con- 
trary, their appearance in politics has always the effect of quiet- 
ing the most turbulent crowds. . . . Not a single case in which a 
respectable woman has been knowingly or wantonly insulted or 
treated with indignity while exercising the right of suffrage has 
been known. The practical result of the exercise of the right of 
suffrage by the women of Wyoming has been noticed in several 
instances to change the result in favor of the better candidate, 
and against the less competent and less worthy. 

"We have had an opportunity to watch the practical effect of 
woman suffrage here from the first, and have seen none of the 
evil results prophesied for it by its opponents. We have never 
heard of a case of domestic trouble growing out of it ; women 
have not been degraded or demoralized ; on the contrary, they 
have, in a quiet, lady-like manner, exercised their elective fran- 
chise, as a rule, in favor of law, order and good government. 
Their influence has done much to refine the politics of our Ter- 
ritory, and to divest them of their objectionable features. All 
lovers of law and order, of whatever political faith, acknowledge 
the benefits of woman's refining influence in our local govern- 
ment." 

The Territories have assumed a significance, yes, a grandeur, 
unthought of twenty years ago. The men who have so nobly 
cast their fortunes here, and have reared industrial monuments 



MANNERS AND SOCIETY. 109 

which now astonish the wildest dreamers of the last decade are 
not to be underestimated. They are representatives of the "best 
enterprise, the best talent and the best energy from the old States 
and nations," and have broken away from all hereditary ties to 
face all dangers and endure all hardships in the cause of develop- 
ment. It has taken talent, energy and nerve to prove that the 
Eockies are the treasure-vaults of the world, that our plains and 
valleys can produce food and clothing for three Americas, and 
that we possess here an empire complete in itself, of health, 
wealth and beauty. One of the most learned and ready editorial 
writers in the Union, after eloquently pointing to such repre- 
sentative western characters as Benton and Houston, does us the 
credit to say : " We need not be surprised if the west and the 
Pacific Slope furnish hereafter the strongest minds in public 
affairs." 

Brains will find ready recognition and employment in the 
west, but they must strive, as did the first invoice, and not take 
it for granted that such commodities are sufficiently scarce to 
warrant unjust criticism, fault-finding and a "hunt-me-up" dis- 
position. Willing hands are also wanted, and the writer has 
never observed a case in which the man who earnestly sought 
work — with a determination to do something — did not get it. 



CHAPTER X, 



WYOMING FOR HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 

IT is not difficult to demonstrate that Wyoming possesses 
more natural and genuine attractions for the health and 
pleasure seeker than any region of similar extent in the known 
world. Her towering mountains and mountain-locked parks, 
her grand rivers and awe-inspiring canons and her broad areas, so 
tempting to the research of all, are almost daily reaping richest 
homage from the most capable explorers and the best scholars of 
our land. The savant, the sportsman and the pleasure seeker 
alike find their ideal, and the invalid requiring an elevated 
region, and in search of health-giving waters or the purest of 
ether, can never be disappointed. 

Game and Fish. — Wyoming is the huntsman's and angler's 
paradise. On her plains the buffalo and antelope find an agree- 
able all-the-year home ; in her mountains the elk, deer, moun- 
tain sheep, bear and mountain lion abound; and in her thousand 
crystal streams and lakes the gamiest and most delicate of all 
fish, the mountain trout, are always ready for the bait. Sage 
hens, grouse and partridge are always found in numerous locali- 
ties, while geese, ducks and other wild fowl are native to 
nearly all the lakes and water-courses. The settler has no 
trouble in providing himself with the best wild meats the year 
round, and indeed often makes a good living by hunting game 
for local markets. From the moment the tourist enters the Ter- 
ritory until he departs, his bill of fare teems with these riches of 
forest, plain and river. Fur-bearing animals of almost every 
description are also taken by the hundreds of trappers who 
inhabit the frontier, and the number of beavers and wolves 
especially, which are annually trapped for their skins, is enor- 
mous. A day's ride from almost any station will take the nimrod 
into hunting grounds of the best class. 

Natural Curiosities. — Of the wonderful petrifactions and 
such other natural curiosities as garnet, topaz, jasper, agate, 



HEALTH AND PLEASUKE. 



Ill 



chalcedony and crystallizations, much has been written. Not 
only have these treasures been widely sought for their natural 

interest and beauty, but a very large 
business is being carried on in the way 
of manufacturing them into every 
variety of jewelry. Eare petrifactions 
of animals, trees and shells and mon- 
ster fossils abound in many localities. 

Mineral Waters. — Mineral springs 
of almost every nature are found in 
accessible localities. The great hot 
springs near Camp Brown, Sweetwater 
county, probably excel any of this 
class in the Eocky Mountain region, 
for their extent, and for the healing 
properties of their waters. The water 
is emitted from numerous orifices in 
the bottom of a pool or basin, which 
covers 6,000 square feet, and a large 
stream is constantly discharged into 
the ice-cold current of Little Wind 
river, near by. Carbonic acid and 
chloride of lime are given off abun- 
dantly, the temperature running 
from 100 to 120. Eheu- 
matic affections and dis- 
eases of the skin are oft- 
en eradicated by a short 
season of bathing, and 
the Shoshone Indians, 
whose agency is located 
here, have a delightful 
tradition making this 
out the mythical " fount- 
ain of youth." A fine 
bath-house is at hand 
for the accommodation 

GIANT GEYSER, YELLOWSTONE PARK. Q f yigftorS 

A great many cold sulphur, iron and soda springs are found 
at Eawlins, Evanston, Hilliard and other points along the rail- 





112 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

road, while in more remote locations there are hundreds of these 
fountains of health and beauty. Near Piedmont is a cluster of 
the most wonderful soda springs in the west. The sediment 
thrown out by the principal one has built up a beautiful conical- 
shaped body, fifteen feet in height. The water is delicious, and 
for health-giving properties cannot be surpassed by others of the 
kind in the Union. A short distance from Evanston is another 
interesting group of soda springs, occupying an area over six 
miles square. Fremont, many years ago, named some of these 
"Steamboat Springs," on account of their graceful but noisy 
steam vents. 

The Yelloivstone Park. — The Senate and House of Kepre- 
sentatives of the United States did a very wise thing a few years 
ago when they passed the act which reserved and withdrew from 
settlement, occupancy and sale that portion of Wyoming's unique 
northwestern corner known as the Yellowstone Park. If readers 
may believe half that is written about it, it is the wonder-land 
not only of America but of the world. "This whole region," 
says Dr. Hayden, the United States geologist, " was, in compara- 
tively modern geological times, the scene of the most wonderful 
volcanic activity of any portion of our country. The hot springs 
and geysers represent the last stages — the vents or escape pipes — 
of these remarkable volcanic manifestations of the internal forces. 
All these springs are adorned with decorations more beautiful 
than human art ever conceived, and which have required thou- 
sands of years for the cunning hand of nature to form." " It is 
probable," he remarks elsewhere, "that during the Pliocene 
period, the entire country, drained by the sources of the Yellow- 
stone and the Colorado, was the scene of volcanic activity as great 
as that of any portion of the globe. It might be called one vast 
crater, made up of a thousand smaller volcanic vents and fissures, 
out of which the fluid interior of the earth, fragments of rock 
and volcanic dust, were poured in unlimited quantities. Hun- 
dreds of the nuclei or cones of these vents are now remaining, 
some of them rising to a height of 10,000 to 11,000 feet above 
the sea." 

The Yellowstone Park embraces an area of fifty-five by sixty- 
five miles, and contains the most striking of all the mountains, 
gorges, falls, rivers and lakes in the whole Yellowstone region. 
The hot springs on Gardiner's river, for example, are along its 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 113 

northern boundary ; the Grand Canon lies toward its northeast- 
ern corner, and toward its southeastern corner stretches Yellow- 
stone lake. The springs in active operation on Gardiner's river 
cover an area of about one square mile, and three or four square 
miles thereabout are occupied by the remains of springs which 
have ceased to flow. " Small streams flow down the sides of the 
Snowy Mountain in channels lined with oxide of iron of the most 
delicate tints of red; others show exquisite shades of yellow, 
from a deep bright sulphur to a dainty cream-color ; still others 
are stained with shades of green ; — all these colors as brilliant as 
the brightest aniline dyes. The water after rising from the 
spring basin flows down the sides of the declivity, step by step, 
from one reservoir to another, at each one of them losing a por- 
tion of its heat, until it becomes as cool as spring water." The 
natural basins into which these springs flow are from four to six 
feet in diameter and from one to four feet in depth. The prin- 
cipal ones are located upon terraces midway up the sides of the 
mountain. " The largest living spring is near the outer margin 
of the main terrace. Its dimensions are twenty feet by forty, 
and its water so perfectly transparent that one can look down 
into the beautiful ultramarine depth to the very bottom of the 
basin. Its sides are ornamented with coral -like forms of a great 
variety of shades, from pure white to a bright cream yellow, 
while the blue sky reflected in the transparent water gives an 
azure tint to the whole which surpasses all art." 

The banks of the Yellowstone river abound with ravines and 
canons, which are carved to the heart of the mountains through 
the hardest rocks. The most remarkable of these is the canon 
of Tower Creek and Column Mountain. The latter, which ex- 
tends along the eastern bank of the river for upward of two 
miles, is said to resemble the Giant's Causeway. It is composed 
of successive pillars of basalt overlying and underlying a thick 
stratum of cement and gravel resembling pudding-stone. The 
pillars are about thirty feet high, and are from three to five 
feet in diameter. The canon of Tower Creek is about ten 
miles in length, and is so deep and gloomy that it is called " The 
Devil's Den." About two hundred yards before it enters the 
Yellowstone the stream pours over an abrupt descent of one hun- 
dred and fifty-six feet. The falls, which are about two hundred 
and sixty feet above the level of the Yellowstone at the junction, 



114 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

are surrounded with columns of yolcanic breccia, that extend to 
the base and rise fifty feet above the top of the falls. " Some 
resemble towers, others the spires of churches, and others still 
shoot up as lithe and slender as the minarets of a mosque. Some 
of the loftiest of these formations, standing like sentinels upon 
the very brink of the fall, are accessible to an expert and adven- 
turous climber." The view from these old rocky watch-towers is 
a grand one, but few are daring enough to climb to their rugged 
summits for the sake of it. " Below the fall the stream descends 
in numerous rapids, with frightful velocity, through a gloomy 
gorge, to its union with the Yellowstone. Its bed is filled with 
enormous boulders, against which the rushing waters break with 
great fury." 

Where Tower Creek ends the Grand Canon begins. Twenty 
miles in length, it is impassable throughout, and inaccessible at 
the water's edge, except at a few points. Its rugged edges are 
from two hundred to five hundred yards apart, and its depth is 
so profound that no sound ever reaches the ear from the bottom. 
" The stillness is horrible. Down, down, down, we see the river 
attenuated to a thread, tossing its miniature waves, and dashing, 
with puny strength, against the massive walls which imprison it. 
All access to its margin is denied, and the dark, gray rocks hold 
it in dismal shadow. Even the voice of its waters in their con- 
vulsive, agony cannot be heard. Uncheered by plant or shrub, 
obstructed with massive boulders, and by jutting points, it rushes 
madly on its solitary course. The solemn grandeur of the scene 
surpasses description. The sense of danger with which it im- 
presses you is harrowing in the extreme." 

Concerning a view of the Grand Canon and surroundings, 
Colonel Wm. Ludlow, of the engineer corps United States army, 
beautifully says : " The view of the Grand Canon from the point 
where we stood is perhaps the finest piece of scenery in the world. 
I can conceive of no combination of pictorial splendors which 
could unite more potently the two requisites of majesty and 
beauty. Close at hand, the river, narrowed in its bed to a width 
of some seventy feet and with a depth of four or five feet, through 
the pure, deep green of which the hardly wavering outlines of the 
brown boulders beneath are distinctly visible, springs to the crest 
with an intensity of motion that makes its clear depths fairly 
seem to quiver. Just before making the plunge, the stream is 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 115 

again contracted, and the waters are thrown in from both sides 
toward the center, so that two bold rounded prominences or but- 
tresses, as it were, are formed where green and white commingle. 
Lying prostrate and looking down into the depth, with the cold 
breath of the canon fanning the face, one can see that these ribs 
continue downward, the whole mass of the fall gradually break- 
ing into spray against the air, until lost in the vast cloud of 
vapor that hides its lowest third, and out of which comes up a 
mighty roar that shakes the hills and communicates a strauge 
vibration to the nerves. From far below this cloud emerges a 
narrow, green ribbon, winding and twisting, in which the river 
is hardly recognizable, so dwarfed is it, and creeping with so oily 
and sluggish a current, as though its fall had stunned it. On 
either hand the walls of the canon curve back from the plunging 
torrent, and rise weltering with moisture to the level of the fall, 
again ascending 500 or 600 feet to the pine-fringed margin of the 
canon; pinnacles and towers projecting far into the space be- 
tween, and seeming to overhang their bases. 

" These details are comparatively easy to give, but how find 
words which shall suggest the marvelous picture as a whole! 
The sun had come out after a brief shower, and, shining nearly 
from the meridian straight into the canon, flooded it with light, 
and illuminated it with a wealth and luxuriance of color almost 
supernatural. The walls appeared to glow with a cold, inward 
radiance of their own, and gave back tints of orange, pink, yellow, 
red, white and brown, of a vividness and massiveness hopeless to 
describe, and which would overtax the powers of the greatest 
artist to portray. The lower slopes, wet with spray, were deco- 
rated with the rich hue of vegetation, while through the midst 
the river, of a still more brilliant green, far below pursued its 
tortuous course, and the eye followed it down through this ocean 
of color until two or three miles away a curve in the canon hid it 
from view and formed its own appropriate background." 

The Grand Caiion is not all poetry, however, as those who 
have descended into it have discovered. It contains a great mul- 
titude of hot springs of sulphur, sulphate of copper, alum, etc. ; 
and the river, when it is finally reached after four miles of weari- 
some clambering over masses of rocks and fallen trees, is warm, 
and impregnated with a villainous taste of alum and sulphur. 
Its margin is lined with various chemical springs, some deposit- 



116 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

ing craters of calcareous rock, others muddy waters of different 
colors. The explorers have been unfortunate in selecting their 
point of descent, which has been at the northern end of the 
chasm, for at the southern end nothing but magnificence is ap- 
parent. There the Yellowstone plunges down in two grand 
cataracts, known as the Upper and Lower Falls. For some dis- 
tance before it reaches the former the river breaks into rapids, 
and, narrowed between the rocks as it approaches the brink, 
leaps, in a sheet of snow-white foam, over a nearly perpendicular 
precipice about one hundred and forty feet high. The stream, 
which is about two hundred feet wide between the falls, narrows 
again as it approaches the Lower Fall to one hundred and fifty 
feet, where it plunges over a level shelf of rock three hundred 
and fifty feet high in a compact solid sheet. The Canon here is 
one thousand feet in depth, its vertical sides rising darkly to 
shelving summits. 

But the brightest jewel of our wonderful park, — the Yellow- 
stone lake — must not pass unnoticed. It is about twenty miles 
long and fifteen miles broad, with a rough and irregular, but 
almost enchanting, shore line. Its superficial area is about three 
hundred square miles, its greatest depth three hundred feet, and 
its elevation above the sea seven thousand four hundred and 
twenty-seven feet. " Lying upon the very crown of the conti- 
nent, Yellowstone lake receives no tributaries of any consider- 
able size, its clear, cold water coming solely from the snows that 
fall on the lofty mountain ranges that hem it in on every side. 
In the early part of the day, when the air is still and the bright 
sunshine falls on its unruffled surface, its bright green color, 
shading to a delicate ultramarine, commands the admiration of 
every beholder. Later in the day, when the mountain winds 
come down from their icy heights, it puts on an aspect more in 
accordance with the fierce wilderness around it. Its shores are 
paved with volcanic rocks, sometimes in masses, sometimes 
broken and worn into pebbles of trachyte, obsidian, chalcedony, 
cornelians, agates, and bits of agatized wood ; and again, ground 
to obsidian sand sprinkled with crystals of California diamonds." 

Of the springs at the southwestern edge of the lake, Pro- 
fessor Hayden says : " Our second camp was pitched at the Hot 
Springs, on the southwest arm. This position commanded one 
of the finest views of the lake and its surroundings. While the 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 11? 

air was still, scarcely a ripple could be seen on the surface, and 
the varied hues, from the most vivid green shading to ultra- 
marine, presented a picture that would have stirred the enthusi- 
asm of the most fastidious artist. Sometimes, in the latter por- 
tion of the day, a strong wind would arise, arousing this calm 
surface into waves like the sea. Near our camp there is a thick 
deposit of silica, which has been worn by the waves into a bluff 
wall, twenty-five feet high above the water. It must have origi- 
nally extended far out into the lake. The belt of springs at this 
place is about three miles long and half a mile wide. The de- 
posit now can be seen far out in the deeper portions of the lake, 
and the bubbles that rise to the surface in various places indicate 
the presence, at the orifice, of a hot spring beneath. Some of the 
funnel-shaped craters extend out so far into the lake that the 
members of our party stood upon the silicious mound, extended 
the rod into the deeper waters, and caught the trout, and cooked 
them in the boiling spring, without removing them from the 
hook. These orifices, or chimneys, have no connection with the 
waters of the lake. The hot fumes coming up through fissures, 
extending down toward the interior of the earth, are confined 
within the walls of the orifice, which are mostly circular and 
beautifully lined with delicate porcelain." 

Lieutenant Barlow contributes the following very interesting 
description of the great Geyser Basin, and of the points of in- 
terest near the Yellowstone Falls : " Entering the basin from the 
north, and following the banks of the Fire Hole river, whose 
direction there is about northeast, a series of rapids, quite near 
together, is encountered, when the river makes a sharp bend to 
the southeast, at which point is found a small steam-jet upon the 
right. A warm stream comes from the left, falling over a bank 
ten feet in height. A short distance beyond a second rapid is 
found, and then another, about 100 yards farther on, where the 
gate of the Geyser Basin is entered. Here, on either side of the 
river, are two lively geysers, called the Sentinels. The one on 
the left is in constant agitation, the waters revolving horizontally 
with great violence, and occasionally spouting upward to the 
height of twenty feet, the lateral direction being fifty feet. Enor- 
mous masses of steam are ejected. The crater of this is three 
feet by ten. The opposite Sentinel is not so constantly active, 
and is smaller. The rapids here are 200 yards in length, with a 



118 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

fall of thirty feet. . Following the banks of the river, whose 
general course is from the southeast, though with many wind- 
ings, 250 yards from the gate we reach three geysers acting in 
concert. When in full action the display from these is very fine. 
The waters spread out in the shape of a fan, in consequence of 
which they have been named the Fan Geysers. A plateau, op- 
posite the latter, contains fifteen hot springs, of various charac- 
teristics; some are of a deep blue color, from sulphate of copper 
held in solution, and having fanciful caverns distinctly visible 
below the surface of the water. The openings at the surface are 
often beautifully edged with delicately wrought fringes of scal- 
loped rock. One variety deposits a red or brown leathery sub- 
stance, partially adhering to the sides and bottom of the cavern, 
and waving to and fro in the water like plants. The size of these 
springs varies from five to forty feet in diameter. 

" One hundred yards farther up the side of the stream is found 
a, double geyser, a stream from one of its orifices playing to the 
height of eighty or ninety feet, emitting large volumes of steam. 
From the formation of its crater it was named the Well Geyser. 
Above is a pine swamp of cold water, opposite which, and just 
above, the plateau previously mentioned, are found some of the 
most interesting and beautiful geysers of the whole basin. First 
we came upon two smaller geysers near a large spring of blue 
water, while a few yards beyond are seen the walls and arches of 
the Grotto. This is an exceedingly intricate formation, eight 
feet in height and ninety in circumference. It is hollowed into 
fantastic arches, with pillars and walls o£ almost indescribable 
variety. This geyser plays to the height of sixty feet several 
times during twenty-four hours. The water, as it issues from its 
numerous apertures, has a very striking and picturesque effect. 
Near the Grotto is a large crater, elevated four feet above the 
surface of the hill, having a rough-shaped opening two by two 
.and a half feet. Two hundred yards farther up are two very fine 
large geysers, between which a\d the Grotto are two boiling 
springs. Proceeding one hundrt^ and fifty yards farther, and 
passing two hot springs, a remarkable group of geysers is dis- 
covered. One of these has a huge crater five feet in diameter, 
shaped something like the base of a horn — one side broken 
down — the highest point being fifteen feet above the mound on 
which it stands. This proved to be a tremendous geyser, which 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 119 

has been called the Giant. It throws a column of water the size 
of the opening to the measured altitude of one hundred and 
thirty feet, and continues the display for an hour and a half. 
The amount of water discharged was immense, almost equal in 
quantity to that in the river, the volume of which, during the 
eruption, was doubled. But one eruption of this geyser was 
observed. Another large crater close by has several orifices, and, 
with ten small jets surrounding it, formed probably one con- 
nected system. The hill built up by this group covers an acre 
of ground, and is thirty feet in height. 

" Toward the western verge of a prairie of several miles in 
extent, above the Yellowstone Falls, a hill of white rocks was 
discovered, which, upon investigation, proved to be another of 
the ' Soda Mountains/ as they are called by the hunters. Ap- 
proaching nearer, I found jets of smoke and steam issuing from 
the face of the hill, while its other side was hollowed out into a 
sort of amphitheatre, whose sides were steaming with sulphur 
fumes, the ground hot and parched with internal fires. Acre 
-after acre of this hot volcanic surface lay before me, having nu- 
merous cracks and small apertures at intervals of a few feet, 
whence were expelled, sometimes in steady, continuous streams, 
sometimes in puffs like those from an engine, jets of vapor more 
or less impregnated with mineral substances. I ascended the hill, 
leaving my horse below, fearful that he might break through the 
thin rock-crust, which in many places gave way beneath the 
tread, revealing caverns of pure crystallized sulphur, from which 
hot fumes were sure to issue. The crystals were very fine, but 
too frail to transport without the greatest care. A large boiling 
spring, emitting strong fumes of sulphur and sulphuretted hy- 
drogen, not at all agreeable, was also found. The water from the 
spring, overrunning its basin, trickled down the hill-side, leaving 
a highly-colored trace in the chalky rock. Upon the opposite 
side was found a number of larger springs. One, from its size 
and the power displayed in throwing water the height of several 
feet above the surface, was worthy of notice. Near this was a 
spring having regular pulsations like a steam engine, giving off 
large quantities of steam, which would issue forth with the roar 
of a hurricane. This was in reality a steam volcano, deep vibra- 
tions in the subterranean caverns, extending far away beneath 
the hills, could be distinctly heard." 



120 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

The only blemishes in all this exquisite workmanship are 
chargeable to man. Colonel Ludlow tells us that the mouldings 
and carvings about the craters and pools have been chipped and 
defaced by visitors, or scrawled over with the vacuous names of 
self-important sightseers. We heartily concur in his opinion 
that such practices should be stopped at once, together with the 
whole system of plunder and vandalism which is wasting the 
reservation. " Hunters have for years devoted themselves to the 
slaughter of the game, until within the limits of the park it is 
hardly to be found. I was credibly informed by people on the 
spot, and personally cognizant of the facts, that during the win- 
ter of 1874 and 1875, at which season the heavy snows render 
the elk an easy prey, no less than from 1,500 to 2,000 of these, 
the largest and finest game animals in the country, were thus 
destroyed within a radius of fifteen miles of the Mammoth 
Springs. From this large number, representing an immense 
supply of the best food, the skins only were taken, netting to the 
hunter some $2.50 or $3 apiece ; the frozen carcasses being left 
in the snow to feed the wolves or to decay in the spring. A con- 
tinuance of this wholesale and wasteful butchery can have but 
one effect, viz., the extermination of the animal, and that, too, 
from the very region where he has a right to expect protection, 
and where his frequent inoffensive presence would give the great- 
est pleasure to the greatest number." 

P. W. Norris, Esq., superintendent of the park, has issued a 
series of rules for the regulation of visitors. All hunting, fishing 
or trapping, except for purposes of recreation or to supply food 
for visitors or actual residents, is strictly prohibited; no fires 
must be left burning; no lumber must be cut without a written 
permit from the superintendent; visitors are prohibited from 
breaking the silicious or calcareous borders or deposits surround- 
ing or in the vicinity of the springs or geysers for any purpose, 
or the removal, carrying away or sale of specimens found within 
the park. Persons will not be permitted to reside permanently 
within the limits of the park without permission from the sec- 
retary of the interior. The superintendent also complains that 
for the past two years great injury has been done by the careless 
use of fire, wanton slaughter of rare and valuable animals and 
vandalism of matchless wonders, and he appeals in the interest 
of science to all to abstain, and to use all influence in urging 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 121 

others to desist, from future vandalism of all kinds in the lofty, 
romantic " wonderland." 

Now that our Indian problem seems so near a final settle- 
ment, and that highways are being rapidly constructed to this 
great national pleasure ground, we may hope to soon see the 
world's attention more strongly riveted upon this object than 
the Yosemite has ever known. Adding this to Wyoming's other 
charms of magnificent scenery, healing waters, invigorating 
atmosphere and choice hunting grounds, she possesses more 
attractions for the tourist and health seeker than any other 
State or Territory. To the hundreds of enthusiastic opinions 
offered by visitors as to the future of this section, Colonel Lud- 
low adds his own, that " the day will come, and it cannot be far 
distant, when this most interesting region, crowded with mar- 
vels and adorned with the most superb scenery, will be rendered 
accessible to all ; and then, thronged with visitors from all over 
the world, it will be what nature and Congress, for once working- 
together in unison, have declared it should be — a National 
Park." 

There are at present two feasible ways of entering the park, 
the first from the Montana settlements on the north, and the 
second from the Wyoming settlements on the south. Travel 
is now confined principally to the northern routes, although they 
are much more inconvenient and expensive, as the following 
tables of distances, with accompanying explanation, will show. 
Routes are laid down from different stations on the Union Pacific 
railroad, according to official reports, and we will commence 
with those of Montana : 

Miles. 

Ogden, Utah, to Franklin, Idaho, (rail) 80 

Franklin to Virginia City (stage) 317 

Madison River (private conveyance) 14 

Driftwood, or Big Bend of Madison, (private conveyance). 28 

Henry's Lake (private conveyance) 18 

Tyghes Pass " 3 

Gibbon's Fork " 23 

Upper Geyser Basin " 15 

Yellowstone Lake " 14 

Total 512 

The Bozeman route is similar to the above so far as distance 
is concerned. From either Virginia City or Bozeman there are 
9 



122 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

fair wagon roads, with numerous desirable camping places and 
generally fine trouting. Banches extend within sixty miles of 
the lake, while animals, camping " outfits " and guides are always 
available at reasonable rates. Following is the Bozeman route : 

Miles. 

Ogden, Utah, to Franklin, Idaho, (rail) 80 

Bozeman, Montana, (stage) . . .j 405 

Boteler's Ranch, Yellowstone river, (private conveyance) 39 

Second Canon of Yellowstone " 13 

Devil's Slide, at Cinnabar Mountain, 8 

Mouth of East Fork of YeUowstone " 24 

Crossing at Cascade Creek " 24 

Yellowstone Lake " . . 12 

Total 605 

The nearest and most feasible Wyoming route at present is 
that leaving the Union Pacific at Green Eiver City. Daily stages 
of the Sweetwater line run into the "Wind Eiver region to Camp 
Brown, a distance of 155 miles, and from there a passable wagon 
road leads to Yellowstone lake, 150 miles farther. From Green 
Eiver City the distances are — 

Miles. 

Alkali Station (stage) 21 

McCoy's Ranch " 27 

Dry Sandy " 22 

Pacific Springs " 13 

Atlantic City " 14 

Miner's Delight " 9 

Eagle Ranch " 18 

Camp Brown " 21 

Head of Wind River (private conveyance) 110 

Yellowstone Lake " 50 

Total 305 

At Camp Brown the tourist will find ample facilities for pro- 
viding himself for the trip. Leaving that post, a splendid wagon 
road ascends Wind Eiver valley for a distance of 110 miles to 
Two Ocean Pass, where the new gold-diggings known as the 
Ehodes Mining District are found. The balance of the distance 
— fifty miles — is usually made with pack animals; but the grade 
is easy, and could be readily followed with wagons. The entire 
route is noted for the grandeur of its scenery, its ever present 
and beautiful trout streams, and its superb, continuous hunting 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 123 

grounds. Stages leave Green River City every morning, reaching 
Camp Brown in thirty-six hours. Fare, first-class, $27. 

Capt. William A. Jones, of the United States engineers, who 
was in 1873 sent to find a shorter route to the Yellowstone Park 
and Montana settlements, was very emphatic in his recommen- 
dations of one of these southern outlets. His report also was 
quite pointed and valuable upon the advantages to be derived by 
the government from building either a rail or wagon road into 
Montana. He says : 

" At present there are two routes to Montana, over which the 
interchange of products between that Territory and the east is 
carried on, and government supplies shipped to the military 
posts and the Indians in that country. These are: 1st, the Mis- 
souri River route, by which supplies are carried by steamboat 
as far as Fort Benton, Montana, and from thence distributed 
through the Territory by wagons; and, 2d, the Union Pacific 
Railroad route, over which supplies are carried by rail as far as 
Corinne, Utah, and from thence northward, by wagons, to Idaho 
and Montana. In the government's freighting contracts of 1873 
the rates from Fort Benton to points in the Territory, and from 
Corinne to the same points, are exactly the same. Of course, so 
far as rates are concerned, the land-route cannot compete with 
the water-route; but the river-route is only open during a few 
months of the year, and during the remainder of the time the 
land-route is not brought into competition with it. Further- 
more, during the season that the river is open, its navigability is 
far from being certain and reliable at all times; so that ship- 
ments over it are detained a very long and wholly uncertain 
length of time in transitu. As the business of the country is 
now conducted, men can ill afford to have their money lying idle 
for months or weeks, or even days, locked up in goods in transitu. 
Every day saved on goods, of whatever character, is' the equiva- 
lent of money gained. It is this element of time and its money 
equivalent that underlies the astounding success of railroads as. 
competitors with water-lines of traffic — success through which 
the steamboat is disappearing from our rivers ; success that is 
proving to us that there is no such thing as slow freight; that 
men want some kinds of freight shipped/tf^er than others, but that 
there is none they want shipped in a slow and unreliable manner. 

"These considerations are so potent that, were a railroad 



124 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

constructed to Montana from some point on the, Union Pacific 
railroad, it would in all probability be followed by virtual dis- 
appearance of steamboat traffic from the Missouri river; and it 
is by no means improbable that the great saving in distance 
effected by the new Yellowstone route will, even without any 
more railroad, enable the land-route to compete successfully with 
that via the Missouri. In all events, the proposed route is 
fraught with benefit to the people of Montana, through the 
bringing of the rival lines into a closer competition. 

" The present land-route leaves the Central Pacific railroad at 
Corinne, Utah, and runs in a northerly direction through Idaho 
to Montana, crossing the Bannock mountains on the divide 
between the Snake and Missouri rivers. The distance from 
Corinne to Fort Ellis, Montana, is four hundred and three miles. 
The proposed [wagon] road should leave the Union Pacific rail- 
road in the vicinity of Point of Kocks, Wyoming, and run about 
north into the Wind Eiver valley; thence following up that 
valley to its head, and through Togwotee Pass, northerly, to 
Yellowstone lake, and through the Yellowstone National Park to 
Fort Ellis. This route would pass directly by all of the principal 
phenomena of the park, except the geysers, which could easily 
be reached by a short side-road. By it, the distance from Point 
of Rocks to Yellowstone lake is two hundred and eighty-nine 
miles, and to Fort Ellis four hundred and thirty-seven miles." 

Captain Jones surveyed a line from Point of Rocks station, on 
the Union Pacific, and indulges in a few comparisons which, 
even at this late day, are worthy of close attention. The freight 
and passenger rates have changed a trifle, but these answer our 
purpose just as well : * 

Comparative Table op Distances. 

Omaha, Neb., to Corinne, Utah 1,055 miles. 

Omaha, Neb., to Point of Rocks, Wyoming 1 805 " 

Distance saved by rail 250 ' ' 

OMAHA, NEB., TO YELLOWSTONE LAKE. 

Omaha to Corinne 1,055 miles. 

Corinne to Fort Ellis, Montana 403 " 

Fort Ellis to Yellowstone Lake 118 " 

Omaha to Yellowstone Lake (present route) 1,576 miles. 

Omaha to Point of Rocks 805 " 

Point of Rocks to Yellowstone Lake 289 " 

Omaha to Yellowstone Lake (proposed route) 1,094 " 

Proposed route shortens distance to Yellowstone Lake 482 " 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 125 

OMAHA, NEB., TO FORT ELLIS AND BOZEMAN, MONTANA. 

Omaha to Corinne 1,055 miles. 

Corinne to Fort Ellis 403 " 

Omaha to Fort Ellis (present route) 1,458 miles. 

Omaha to Point of Rocks. .• 805 " 

Point of Rocks to Fort Ellis 437 " 

Omaha to Fort Ellis (proposed route) 1,242 " 

Proposed route shortens distance to Fort Ellis 216 " 

" It is fair to presume that the freight and passenger rates 
will be about the same over the proposed as they are over the 
present route, as the distances are nearly the same. A reason- 
able comparison between these rates can therefore be made from 
the following table, showing those paid by the government to the 
Union Pacific railroad : 

Table of Rates, 
transportation of persons — (amount for each person.) 

Omaha to Corinne $79 25 

Omaha to Point of Rocks 57 25 

Amount per man saved by the proposed route $22 00 

Transportation of Freight. — Third Class. 
(four cents per ton per mile.) 

Omaha to Corinne (1,055 miles), per ton $42 20 

Omaha to Point of Rocks (805 miles), per ton 32 20 

Amount per ton saved by the proposed route $10 00 

Shipments of Freight to Montana, 
shipments to montana via union pacific railroad. 

Years. Poimda. 

1869 1,125,960 

1870 6,896,723 

1871 7,501,280 

1872 6,129,644 

1873 (about) 6,000,000 

" The proposed route will not be blocked by snow so much as 
the present one, as the snow belt lies in a heavily-timbered coun- 
try, in which the snow will not drift much. This will include a 
distance of fully 150 miles north from Wind River valley. It 
will open up a body of 2,000,000 acres of timber land, well 



126 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

watered and with a rich soil. There is considerable frost even 
during the summer, but in spite of it the vegetation is always 
quite luxuriant. 

"There is good reason for believing that the Yellowstone 
National Park will in time become the most popular summer 
resort in the country, perhaps the world. This of itself is a 
sufficient reason for opening the way to it at once. 

" To sum up : the proposed route will save 250 miles of dis- 
tance by railroad, 482 miles in reaching Yellowstone lake, and 
216 miles in reaching the principal cities of Montana; it is a 
direct route to the Yellowstone National Park, which at present 
is practically inaccessible ; it opens up a very large tract of low- 
lying timber land, a feature of rare occurrence in the great 
Eocky Mountain plateau ; it will open up to settlement the Wind 
Kiver valley, the Teton Basin, and the valley of the Upper Yel- 
lowstone ; and, finally, will throw open the Yellowstone National 
Park to the wonder-seekers of the world." 

Wyoming's Healthfulness. — Concerning Wyoming as a resort 
for invalids, Dr. George W. Corey, of Cheyenne, contributes the 
following: "More than forty years ago a kind of vague but quite 
general impression prevailed among the people inhabiting what 
was then the frontier of the United States that the Plains, as 
they were then designated, were peculiarly valuable as a health 
resort for those suffering from pulmonary consumption, and for 
those young persons who were weakly and cachectic. As early 
as 1850, Dr. G. K. Wood wrote as follows from Fort Laramie: 
' The climate of these broad and elevated table-lands, which skirt 
the base of the Rocky Mountains on the east, is specially benefi- 
cial to persons suffering from pulmonary diseases, or with a 
scrofulous diathesis. This has been known to the French inhab- 
itants of the upper Mississippi and Missouri for many years, and 
it has been their custom since the settlement of that portion of 
the country to send the young members of their families who 
showed any tendency to diseases of the lungs to pass their youth 
among the trappers of the plains and mountains. The beneficial 
results of this course no doubt depends in a great measure upon 
the mode of life led by these persons — their regular habits, 
constant exercise in the open air, and the absence of enervating 
influences incident to life in cities. But that more is due to the 
climate itself is shown by the fact that among the troops stationed 





THE GREAT FALLS OF THE YELLOWSTONE, 350 FEET HTGH. 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 129 

in this region (whose habits are much the same everywhere) this 
class of disease is of very rare occurrence/ 

"A vast amount has been written during the last ten years in 
reference to the marvelous beauty of the Eocky Mountain scenery 
and the wonderful curative properties of the climate of these 
regions, especially in cases of disease of the respiratory organs, 
such as consumption, asthma, bronchitis, etc. etc., and it would 
seem that the subject had been pretty well exhausted. Most of 
this writing has, however, been done by industrious adventurers 
of particular localities, who have not always observed the strictest 
regard for exact truth, but have magnified features of scenery 
and climate that were pleasant and favorable, and sought to 
cover up or pass unnoticed those that are unpleasant and unfa- 
vorable. This method of proceeding is certain to react unfavora- 
bly, and statements of the best established facts in reference to 
the benefits arising to certain classes of invalids from a residence 
in these highlands are even now beginning to be looked upon 
with many grains of allowance by people of the east. This 
country is beginning to be looked upon as a quack nostrum, and 
statements favorable to it as a health resort considered as adver- 
tising dodges. It is our purpose to show in this article that these 
elevated plains and mountain regions are the most healthful dis- 
tricts in the United States, and that Wyoming is as healthful as 
the most favored of them ; that in these elevated regions, where 
the inhabitants enjoy the greatest degree of immunity from lung 
diseases, the climate has an actual curative influence upon most 
diseases of that class; that this climate cures some diseases, 
while others are made worse; that consumption, in its early 
stages, may be cured by a residence here, while in a more 
advanced stage of the disease the sufferer sinks more rapidly here 
in these highlands than he would down near the sea-shore ; that 
while this clear, bracing, tonic mountain air is a great, good 
medicine, it is no quack nostrum that cures everything. We 
shall also attempt to show that Wyoming, today, possesses more 
advantages as a health resort for people of all classes than any 
other region in these highlands, being more accessible from both 
east and west, and having larger areas unoccupied where people 
may make homes and follow lucrative pursuits while they im- 
prove their health. 

" In presenting the claims of any region or country as being 



130 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



peculiarly salubrious and valuable as a resort for invalids or 
those seeking the improvement of their health, it would seem 
quite proper in the outset to inquire into the general health, 
comparatively, of those that may be considered as nearly as 
possible its permanent residents. For this purpose we have 
selected several important regions of the United States, and, 
taking the medical statistics of the United States army,* have 
compiled a tabular statement of the ratio of sickness and mortal- 
ity among the troops in these various regions, so that they may 
be compared with the ratio of sickness and mortality among the 
troops in Wyoming. 

" It will be noted that the troops of the United States army 
are subject to exactly the same conditions and surroundings, and 
have the same habits everywhere more nearly than any other 
class of people. They are frequently moved from one region 
to another; their food, clothing, medical attendance and places 
of abode are nearly identically the same wherever they go, and, 
consequently, comparing the ratio of sickness and mortality 
among them in these different regions will enable us to obtain a 
more correct estimate of the actual healthfulness of each region 
than could possibly be obtained in any other way. 

TABLE 

Showing comparative sickness and mortality, from disease, among United 
States troops in different localities; averaged for five years, from 1869 to 
1874. Compiled from the official reports of the War Department. 



Localities by States and 
Territories. 



Atlantic Coast, from New- 
York to Maine 

Arizona 

New Mexico 

California and Nevada. . . 

Pennsylvania, Indiana and 
Michigan 

Montana 

Dakota 

Wyoming 

Oregon, Washington and 
Idaho 



Average 

number of 

troops per 

y'r stationed 

in each 

locality. 



841.21 
1,168.32 

954.79 
1,393.24 

438.25 

622.74 

2,004.37 

1,919.10 

730.56 



Average 
number 
treated in 
hospital per 
year for 
disease. 



1,486.90 
2,481.15 
1,176.02 
2,212.60 

561.75 

720.90 

2,453.35 

2,406.24 

1,074.60 



Average 
number 

died 
per year 

from 
disease. 



15. 

14.15 
7.42 
9.60 

2.65 
3.50 
9.55 
9.05 

3.40 



Ratio to 1,000 of 
mean strength. 



Treated 

each year 

for disease. 



1,768.01 
2,124.14 
1,231.70 
1,587.65 

1,282.53 
1,157.62 
1,224.06 
1,253.77 

1,471.23 



Died ea. 
y'r from 
disease. 



17.83 
12.11 

7.77 
6.88 

6.05 
5.62 
4.76 

4.71 



* Circular No. 4, War Department, Surgeon-General's Office, Washington, December 
5, 1870, and Circular No. 8, May 1, 1875. We regret not being able to make this table 
more full and complete, for want of time, but hope to do so iu the future. 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 131 

" It will be observed that deaths from all other causes except 
disease have been excluded from the above statement, and that 
while Dakota, Wyoming, Washington and Idaho Territories, and 
the State of Oregon, show the smallest ratio of mortality, Mon- 
tana shows the smallest ratio of sickness. It should also be 
remembered that the troops in Dakota, Montana and Wyoming 
were, during the years included in the above table, almost con- 
stantly harassed and kept on active field duty, assisting a lot of 
robbers and lunatics to civilize the wild Sioux on the c peace 
plan/ This plan consisted in the robbers robbing the Sioux of 
their annuities, while the lunatics taught them to sing psalms. 
This constant duty brought with it exposure and fatigue, and 
consequent increase of sickness and mortality. In spite of this, 
these last named regions show as small a sick-rate, and within 
a trifling fraction as small a death-rate, as any of the most 
healthy regions of the United States. 

" Some of the Acute Diseases of Wyoming. — The acute diseases 
of these mountain regions are the same in many respects that 
prevail in similar latitudes in the Mississippi basin, modified of 
course by the very great difference that exists in the climate of 
the two regions. The most striking peculiarities of this climate 
are the extreme dryness of the atmosphere and the great daily 
range of temperature. The season of greatest relative humidity 
is from October to April, and again from April to October is the 
season of least relative humidity ; the atmosphere of July being 
the dryest of the whole year. The greatest daily ranges of tem- 
perature occur during the season of the dryest atmosphere. 
These climatic conditions seem to have a controlling influence 
upon disease, — catarrhal affections prevailing most during sea- 
sons of greatest humidity of the atmosphere, while diseases of 
tlie bowels, such as diarrhoea and dysentery, prevail while the air 
is dryest and the greatest daily ranges of temperature occur. 
Catarrh, or, as it is popularly called, cold, is the most common 
disease here, as it is everywhere in this latitude. When special 
regions of the air passages are attacked, the disease is designated 
accordingly: cold in the head or coryza, quinsy or tonsilitis, 
laryngitis or bronchitis. Quinsy is very prevalent, and embraces 
much the larger proportion of all the cases of sore throat. While 
catarrhal affections of the upper portions of the air passages are 
extremely common, inflammatory diseases of the lungs, such as 



132 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

bronchitis, pneumonia or lung fever, and pleurisy, are extremely 
rare. Intermittent fever, or ague, never occurs here except in 
persons who have lately arrived in the country from malarious 
districts either east or west. There is, however, a species of 
remittent fever called i mountain fever/ which is indigenous, and 
is a very severe disease. It prevails most in autumn and early 
winter following dry summers, but may occur at any season of 
the year. Some physicians report a great many cases of this 
disease, which are simply bilious attacks, and have no resem- 
blance to 'mountain fever' whatever. Biliousness, or 'bilious 
attacks/ are extremely common, and prevail most during the 
spring and summer months, and are speedily cured by remedies 
that promote the action of the liver. Typhoid fever occurs but 
rarely. Rheumatism and neuralgia are not very common, and 
seem to prevail epidemically; more cases of rheumatism have 
occurred in this place (Cheyenne) during the last year than 
occurred in eight years before. Childbed fever occurs rarely, and 
mothers recover from confinement rapidly and successfully, while 
children born here are extremely fine, well developed and healthy. 
Scarlet fever and diphtheria have never prevailed epidemically in 
Wyoming except in one instance, — a quite malignant form of 
scarlet fever prevailed in Laramie City in 1873. 

" The disease that is most fatal among children in Wyoming 
is a species of brain affection. Many children are born here with 
very high-strung, irritable nervous organizations — seem quite 
healthy at first — grow unusually well, and are extremely preco- 
cious. They are often quite fleshy, but are noticed to have a 
bloodless, pearly-white skin, with large, finely-formed, but un- 
natural-shaped heads. Such children seldom live through their 
second year. Some of this class of children, however, recover 
from the most severe attacks of sickness, showing that remark- 
able tenacity of life sometimes possessed by children, and con- 
tinue to grow and thrive in spite of the disease and the predic- 
tions of the doctors. Diarrhoea, dysentery and cholera infantum, 
while they occur here among children, have never proven to be 
such severe scourges as they frequently do in the regions east of 
the Missouri. 

" Wyoming as a Resort for Invalids. — We come now to speak 
of Wyoming as a resort for invalids ; and first, for those suffering 
from diseases of the respiratory organs. If we were called upon 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 133 

to select a climate well calculated to benefit invalids suffering 
from any particular malady, it would seem the most natural 
thing in the world for us to select a region where that particular 
malady, or the class of diseases to which it belonged, were least 
prevalent, and where climatic conditions prevailed best calculated 
to prevent its occurrence. The climate of North America is 
rough and harsh compared with that of Europe, notably so on 
account of its sudden changes, and great fluctuations of temper- 
ature in short spaces of time. The opinion has long prevailed 
that severe and sudden changes of temperature played a most 
important part in the production of diseases of the lungs, espe- 
cially bronchial catarrh and other milder diseases of the air pas- 
sages. Such, however, is found not to be the case, unless these 
sudden changes are accompanied by great relative humidity of 
the atmosphere ; and as we have before stated, the ratio of rela- 
tive humidity here in these highlands is very low, while the abso- 
lute humidity is even less. The correctness of the latter opinion 
is constantly verified in this country, where we see persons who 
have weak lungs spending most of their waking hours in the 
open air without regard to winds or weather, and suffering no 
inconvenience, but, on the contrary, being constantly improved 
in health. The great daily oscillations of temperature are more 
than counterbalanced by the dryness of the atmosphere and other 
climatic conditions that exist here. Just what it is that makes 
up these other conditions it may be difficult to say. It may be 
an excessive amount of electricity. It may be ozone, or an in- 
creased amount of oxygen or diminished pressure of the atmos- 
phere. It may be found in the perfect freedom of the atmosphere 
from noxious vapors of the lower altitudes, or the clear, pure, un- 
obstructed light of the sun. It may be found in that antiseptic 
property which is known to exist in the air of these regions, that 
heals wounds rapidly, and prevents the flesh of slain animals, 
when exposed in the open air, from rapid decay. It may be any 
one or, as we suspect, all these combined that produce tonic air. 
" The fact that the extremely rough, harsh, changeable cli- 
mate of New England produced greater ratios of consumption 
than almost any other, long since led to the conclusion that 
a climate as nearly the opposite of that — mild and equable — 
would be the one most likely to benefit consumptives. Such 
climates, however, are found not to possess tonic properties, such 



134 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

as we have just spoken of; but, on the contrary, are enervating, 
and the benefits anticipated from them have not been realized. 
We are of the opinion that the influence of this mountain air 
upon the lungs, directly or locally, is not as important as the 
profound change it produces upon the whole system during the 
process of acclimation, giving new life and new energy to consti- 
tutions that appeared to be shattered and broken down. It acts 
as a slow and gentle stimulant and tonic to the nervous system — 
the center of life — and through it upon all the functions of the 
body. We are not to be understood as saying that this climate 
produces this effect in every case. This is the rule, to which, 
however, there are some exceptions. 

"Chronic Nasal Catarrh. — This is an extremely common dis- 
ease in these dry regions. Persons afflicted with it coming here 
from the east are about as often made worse as better. The 
evaporation from the surfaces of the mucous membranes of the 
nose, caused by the currents of dry air passing in over them at 
every respiration, keeps them on a constant strain to secrete 
moisture sufficient to lubricate their surfaces, and an extremely 
unpleasant feeling of dryness in the nose is experienced by new- 
comers for some time on this account. This form of catarrh is 
a very manageable disease except when it attacks persons of 
feeble constitution. 

" Chronic laryngitis and bronchitis are speedily cured by a 
residence here unless they exist as complications of pulmonary 
consumption. 

"Asthma. — It may be said of these regions that they are the 
paradise of asthmatics. An uncomplicated case of asthma was 
never seen here that was not either cured or very much benefited 
by a residence in these regions. Hundreds of the very worst 
cases have come to Wyoming, both from the Atlantic and Pacific 
coasts, and the longer they reside here the freer they become from 
the disease. Persons of advanced age are as uniformly benefited 
as those that are younger. Asthmatics who have organic dis- 
ease of the heart may often stay on the Great Plains, in the ele- 
vations of from 2,000 to 4,000 feet, such as the regions around 
the Black Hills, with great relief from their asthma and slight 
inconvenience from their heart trouble. 

" Emphysema. — As a rule this disease seems to be benefited 
by long-continued residence in high regions. One case that we 



HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 135 

have seen occasionally for seven years past remained perfectly 
free from the disease while living for two years at an altitude of 
8,000 feet, but on taking up his abode at 6,000 feet elevation has 
had an attack about every six months, lasting from ten days to 
two weeks. 

"Consumption. — This terrible scourge of the human race un- 
questionably originates in imperfect or faulty nutrition. This 
defect may be either hereditary or acquired. A tendency to con- 
sumption may exist during a long life and not be developed, 
because of the correct habits of the person having this constitu- 
tional defect. And again consumption may be developed in a 
person having no constitutional taint — it being brought on by 
poor diet, long-continued transgression of hygienic laws, or resi- 
dence in an unhealthy, depressing climate or poorly- ventilated 
dwellings. In view of these facts the prevention of consumption 
becomes an important consideration. For all persons who are 
predisposed to consumption these regions offer a more certain 
lease of life than any other on this continent. Persons whose 
habits of life do not allow or compel them to fully expand their 
lungs in a pure atmosphere — pale, thin, bloodless clerks, or 
those of sedentary habits, with hacking coughs; nervous and 
dyspeptic persons, children with narrow, stooping shoulders, flat 
breasts and impaired digestion; — all these should seek the 
mountains, if possible. The light air of these elevated regions 
necessitates full breathing. Every nook and corner of the lungs 
is forced into activity. The chest becomes full and round, the 
stooping shoulders straighten up, the breathing capacity becomes 
greater, the blood flows more rapidly and freely through the 
lungs and is more perfectly purified or aerated. These people 
-will find no occasion to devote a certain amount of time every 
morning or evening to dumb-bell exercises and spasmodic efforts 
to inflate their lungs. They will find that this exercise goes on 
.all through the twenty-four hours of the day and night ; that it 
is involuntary and not fatiguing ; that it is constant and natural, 
and infinitely more beneficial than over-exertion for a short time 
each day at dumb-bell and gymnastic labors. All such persons 
as we have mentioned above will find their appetites and diges- 
tion improved, their weight increased, and their physical and 
mental energy greater than they have ever known them before. 

"Developed Consummation. — After consumption has been de- 



136 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

veloped the question arises whether highlands or lowlands are 
preferable to relieve the sufferer and prolong his existence, or in 
rare instances cure him. The extent to which the disease has 
advanced ; the amount of the lung-substance that has been de- 
stroyed or rendered useless, and the degree of general emaciation 
that has taken place, must be the guide in deciding whether the 
sufferer should go to the highlands or lowlands, or remain at 
home and die among his friends. The responsibility of the phy- 
sician is very great in these cases where the patient is seen in the 
early stages of the disease, and an opinion should be made up at 
once as to what should be done. As a rule, hemorrhage from the 
lungs is the first occurrence that fully settles the question in the 
minds of the patient and his friends as to the true nature of his 
disease. It is looked upon as a symptom of seated consumption. 
We have seen a great many persons who, frightened by this 
occurrence in their cases, have left homes in the east and come 
here at once, and at least nine out of ten of them have been ben- 
efited. We should, then, as a rule, advise all persons, as soon as 
hemorrhage from the lungs has occurred, to come to the moun- 
tains as soon as convenient, say within a month. There are, of 
course, some exceptions to this rule, such as extremely acute 
cases, where inflammation and rapid softening and breaking 
down of the lungs is followed in a short time by death. After 
softening of tubercular deposits in the lungs, except in cases 
where these deposits are of extremely limited extent, the sufferer 
should not be brought to these elevated regions, as he will only 
hasten the fatal termination by so doing. Quite a number of 
these unfortunate people who have been on their way to Cali- 
fornia over the Union Pacific railroad, have died in their seats 
while passing over these elevated regions. Chronic inflammation 
of the lungs and chronic pleurisy never exist here, except as 
complications of consumption. 

"Other Chronic Diseases. — As a rule, persons suffering from 
organic disease of the heart, like those in the advanced stages of 
consumption, should avoid these highlands and remain nearer 
the sea-level. Chronic diseases peculiar to females are usually 
made worse by a residence here, unless they exist as a complica- 
tion of pulmonary disease. 

" Those suffering from general debility or nervous dyspepsia 
are almost certain to be cured by a residence here for a sufficient 
length of time to become acclimated." 



PART SECOND. 



Counties, Cities, Military Posts, Etc. 



WITH MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION FOR THE 



CITIZEN OR PROSPECTIVE SETTLER. 



COUNTIES AND CITIES. 



CHAPTER I. 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 

IN this chapter it is the purpose of the writer to briefly describe 
the counties, cities, towns, etc., giving merely the important 
features of location, size, population, wealth, and similar points. 
As the most important industries tributary to the principal cities, 
or belonging to the different counties, have already been treated 
of in appropriate articles, exhaustive descriptions are rendered 
superfluous here. In the estimates of area following, no allow- 
ance is made for the new counties of Crook and Pease, which 
were created by the last legislature, and which yet lack organiza- 
tions. Taking up the counties first we naturally commence at 
the eastern boundary of the Territory. 

COUNTIES. 

Laramie. — Occupying the extreme eastern portion of the Ter- 
ritory, Laramie county presents an area of 16,800 square miles, 
consisting largely of high rolling plains. It is watered princi- 
pally by the Laramie, North Platte and Cheyenne rivers, and its 
settlements are confined wholly to the valleys of the two first 
named and their tributaries. The county contains a larger pro- 
portionate area of summer and winter grazing land than any of 
the other counties, while its valleys susceptible of cultivation are 
quite numerous and extensive. The valleys of Horse Creek, 
Chugwater river, Pole Creek, the Laramie river, and numerous 
other streams, contain good lands, easily irrigated, and will pro- 
duce fine crops, with a good market always at hand. Timber is 
found in abundance within a convenient distance. Nearly 75,- 
000 head of cattle and 50,000 head of sheep are now feeding upon 



140 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

less than one-third of its pasturage, and are confined to the re- 
gion lying south of the Platte. The sales from these herds the 
present year will reach $500,000. Assessed valuation of all 
property for 1877, $3,000,000 ; estimated population, 9,540. Kich 
deposits of gold, iron and copper are found in accessible localities, 
and coal abounds in the extreme northern portions. 

Albany. — Next on the west lies Albany county, containing 
10,400 square miles of unexcelled grazing, forest, agricultural and 
mineral lands. The Big and Little Laramie, North Platte and 
Medicine Bow rivers are the principal streams, while the great 
natural feature of interest — the Laramie plains — furnishes an 
immense area of available farm and pasture lands. This won- 
derful basin or park contains nearly 3,000,000 acres, and has an 
average altitude of 7,150 feet. Over 50,000 head of stock are 
grazing in this region, and many of the finest ranch sites in the 
west are still to be had for the simple taking. The lumber, mar- 
ble, iron and soda interests have already awakened much atten- 
tion, and are destined to soon make Albany the banner county 
for the value of productions. Taxable wealth, $2,500,000 ; esti- 
mated population, 8,500; productions of all kinds for 1877, 
$1,850,000. 

Carton. — Carbon county occupies 22,080 square miles of the 
central portion of the Territory. Population, 2,500; assessed 
valuation, 1877, $1,900,000. The importance and diversity of its 
resources is a matter worthy of more than usual note. The val- 
leys of the North Platte, Sweetwater, Medicine Bow and Snake 
rivers have a total length, within the county, of over 300 miles. 
Along these can be found large areas of good lands, plenty of 
water for irrigating purposes, and plenty of timber within easy 
distance. There are numerous small streams all through the 
county, principally tributaries of the streams already mentioned, 
whose valleys contain thousands of acres of good lands, well 
adapted to the purposes of agriculture and stock-raising. All 
these valleys will produce fine crops of small grain, potatoes, 
beets, onions, cabbage and all other kinds of hardy vegetables. 
Pine timber is always abundant near the sources of the streams. 
Thousands of railroad ties are made every year from this timber 
and are floated down the Medicine Bow river to the line of 
the railroad. The mining interest is also destined to be very 
extensive. In the northern, central and extreme southern por- 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 141 

tions, rich deposits of gold and silver are being developed. Coal 
and iron abound, the former underlying at least one-fourth of 
the surface. The Carbon coal mines are yielding from eighty to 
ninety thousand tons of coal per annum. This county is also 
the source of the western paint supply, and detailed mention of 
this interest is made elsewhere. 

Siveetivatei\ — This county has the princely area of 29,532 
square miles and occupies a large proportion of the western half 
of the Territory. Green, Sweetwater, Wind, Sandy and Popoagie 
are the principal rivers, and with their numerous mountain 
tributaries render this entire region unusually well watered. 
Thus far Sweetwater is the banner agricultural county, nearly 
every variety of small grains and vegetables being regularly 
produced along Wind and Popoagie by thrifty and well-satisfied 
ranchmen. Wheat, oats and barley are the principal crops at 
present, and a home market is found for all that can be raised. 
The government purchases all the grain offered for sale, and pays 
good prices, giving eastern prices with cost of transportation 
added. Potatoes yield well and are of superior quality ; they sell 
very readily in the mining towns at good prices. Cabbage, 
turnips, beets, carrots, parsnips, onions, etc., are raised easily and 
successfully ; cucumbers, melons, tomatoes and egg-plant mature 
well and are of an excellent flavor. The rich Sweetwater and 
Wind river gold and silver mines are located in this county, and, 
indeed, a large proportion of the Big Horn range, with its vast 
undeveloped wealth. The Eock Springs coal measures, so famous 
all over the trans-Missouri region, are also in this county. Pine 
timber is abundant everywhere. Sweetwater county contains 
more desirable unoccupied farming lands than any other in the 
Territory, has vast summer and winter pasturage for stock and 
presents strong inducements to the prospector or the capitalist 
seeking investment in mines. Total valuation of property, 
$1,918,449. Population, 3,500. 

Uintah. — This county occupies the extreme western portion 
of the Territory and contains 17,064 square miles. Its resources 
in coal lands, forests, pastures and arable soil are as extensive, in 
proportion to its area, as are those of any region in the west. 
Uintah county supplies the Central Pacific railway, Utah, Ne- 
vada, Idaho and portions of California with coal. It sustains 
the Utah and Wyoming smelters with charcoal and coke, and it 



142 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

furnishes vast quantities of lumber, ties and wood for local and 
railroad consumption. The Yellowstone, Bear and Snake rivers 
and Henry's and Ham's forks of Green river are the principal 
streams. These and their tributaries water finely situated and 
fertile valleys, only waiting for the labor of man to make them 
equally as productive as the best sections of the States. There 
are several large valleys which offer extraordinary inducements 
to settlers, and large colonies will experience but little difficulty 
in obtaining desirable locations ; they will find it to their inter- 
est to examine some of these valleys before deciding upon a loca- 
tion. The many growing towns afford a home market for every- 
thing produced ; the supply at present is totally inadequate, and 
large quantities of vegetables, eggs, butter, etc., are imported 
from Utah and the east. The soil will produce nearly every 
variety of the hardy cereals and vegetables. Flax grows sponta- 
neously and luxuriantly in many parts of the county. No better 
location for stock-raising and dairying can be found than here, 
and many are already laying the foundations for competence by 
earnest efforts in this direction. That mountain-locked gem of 
all America, Yellowstone Park, lies in the northern portion of 
Uintah county. A good route can easily be constructed thither 
through the county, and will undoubtedly soon be a popular 
highway. 

CITIES, VILLAGES, POST-OFFICES, ETC. 

Cheyenne. — The writer recently asked one of the first settlers 
of Cheyenne whether he knew who erected the first house in the 
city, and received as an answer: "Well, one fine day, early in 
July, 1867, four or five hundred of us pitched our tents here, 
where there wasn't a sign of civilization, and about half of us 
woke up at daylight the next morning to find that the other half 
were living in board shanties!" That is the history of the 
founding of western cities, in a very small nut-shell, with the 
exception that while many other cities are short-lived, Cheyenne 
was founded as permanently as her western walls of granite. The 
city is situated in the southeastern corner of Wyoming, 516 miles 
west of Omaha, and is the seat of Territorial government as well 
as of Laramie county. Her population closely approximates 
4,500, and her taxable wealth for the present year is estimated at 
nearly $3,000,000. 

No city of like population in the west can boast as rapid and 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 143 

permanent a growth during the past two years as Cheyenne. 
During this period the population has been doubled, over 200 
residences and twenty massive business blocks have been com- 
pleted at a cost of 1700,000, and at this writing plans are drawn 
or work progressing on improvements worth over $100,000 more. 
Among public improvements may be noted a public school 
building costing $13,000; a court-house costing $40,000; city 
hall, $12,000; Odd-Fellows hall, $15,000; five fine churches, 
belonging to the prominent denominations, and a large outlay 
upon the grading of streets, construction of sidewalks, etc. An 
excellent system of water-works, well under way, will soon supply 
the city with water for both fire and domestic purposes, while 
arrangements have just been completed for illumination by gas. 
Several immense reservoirs or lakes, supplied by Crow Creek, 
occupy elevated positions near the city, and are drawn upon for 
water for irrigating purposes. Thus, the site once so barren and 
desolate is not only teeming with wonderful life, but will soon, 
through the beautifying influences of tasty residences and rich 
foliage, be a really handsome city. 

In order to show the present importance of Cheyenne in a 
commercial way we will quote figures of business in a few leading 
lines. During 1876 there were received at the Union Pacific and 
Denver Pacific freight depots here over 80,000,000 pounds of 
freight. During the same time nearly $250,000 were received by 
these roads at the Cheyenne offices for passenger tickets and 
extra baggage. 

For the six months ending June 30, 1877, the Cheyenne and 
Black Hills Stage Company — the finest organization of its kind 
in the whole west, and of which every citizen is justly proud — 
carried 3,128 first and second class passengers, for which the 
fares amounted to $48,766.22. The same company, during this 
period, has carried 5,680 express packages, on which were charges 
to the amount of $19,471.47. This company has nearly $200,000 
invested in its elegant coaches, fine stock, etc. On its Black 
Hills lines eighty men are regularly carried on the pay-roll, and 
their wages foot up the snug sum of $7,000 per month. It 
requires 600 head of stock to run this "broad-gauge" line, 
which is only second to a narrow-gauge railway; and all other 
appointments are on the same liberal plan. 

Cheyenne's two solid and well-conducted banks — the First 



144 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

National and Stebbins, Post & Co. — have, during the past year, 
sold exchange to the amount of $4,225,000; have bought $1,200,- 
000 worth of Black Hills gold dust, and have had an average of 
$300,000 regularly on deposit. These institutions are officered 
and conducted by Cheyenne men, and have no superior for sys- 
tematic and legitimate management. 

The business of the telegraphic companies is another fair 
indication of the general prosperity. The Western Union, At- 
lantic & Pacific and Cheyenne and Black Hills companies have 
offices here. The total number of messages received by these 
during the past year is 267,971; cash receipts, $35,000; money 
transfers, $22,000. The Cheyenne and Black Hills line is em- 
phatically a home institution, and the far northern settlements 
owe to Superintendent W. H. Hibbard a debt of gratitude which 
cannot soon be repaid. The wires were first stretched to Dead- 
wood, December 1, 1876, since which date over 700,000 words 
have passed over them to or from Cheyenne. 

The three leading hotels of Cheyenne have registered 10,800 
arrivals during the past year, and a dozen smaller institutions 
have probably done as much more. 

Real estate transfers for the past year have numbered about 
five hundred, with the handsome consideration of $175,000. 
Business lots have increased in value from fifty to seventy-five per 
cent., and residence lots from twenty to twenty-five per cent. Large 
areas of outside property are still held by the Union Pacific com- 
pany at very reasonable figures. First-class business lots 24 X 132 
feet sell readily at from $2,000 to $3,000; first-class residence 
lots 66x132, $500 to $800. Good outside property sells for less 
than half these prices, and that portion held by the railway com- 
pany still sells in best plats at the uniform rate of $100 per lot. 
Rents are usually high, and the supply of desirable business or 
residence structures is never equal to the demand. Strictly first- 
class brick business houses rent for from $100 to $125 per month 
for a single floor, while cottages of five and six rooms are eagerly 
sought at $30 to $35. Insurance premium on first-class brick 
houses, $1.25. Risks on frame business houses are not taken. 
Over $600,000 in policies are now out on Cheyenne property. 

What Omaha has been to Nebraska, Dakota and Iowa, or 
Denver to Colorado and New Mexico, Cheyenne is and will be to 
Wyoming, Montana and so much of Dakota as is covered by the 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 145 

Black Hills region. No outlet for all the vast northwest can 
present half the natural advantages and no northwestern city- 
can approach Cheyenne for real downright enterprise, sagacious 
business management or spirit of permanency. Already possess- 
ing two important railway lines, the "Magic City" is construct- 
ing a third, and by the avowed determination of Union Pacific 
authorities will soon have her fourth — that to connect her with 
the rich Big Horn and Black Hills regions, and to lay at her feet 
the offerings of all the fertile valleys and metal-seamed moun- 
tains of Montana. Already her heavy wholesale houses are 
securing much of the northern and western trade which origi- 
nally went to the cities of the east, and with their constantly 
enlarging facilities and liberal spirit this important feature of 
prosperity has the brightest possible outlook. The stock inter- 
ests have thus far had more to do with the erection of her elegant 
blocks and residences, and her prosperity generally, than any 
other single item, and this, simply inaugurated, promises the 
grandest possibilities. Of Cheyenne's relations to the Big Horn 
and Black Hills regions more is said in chapters devoted to those 
sections. However, in closing this hasty and imperfect sketch,, 
the writer desires to state that, all things being considered, there 
are no points aspiring to reap the benefits of the travel and trade 
of those regions which can be compared with Cheyenne. 

Cheyenne is justly proud of her newspapers, and we doubt if 
all other interests combined have promoted development to a 
greater extent than these. There are three large dailies, the Sun r 
Leader and Gazette, the two first-named issuing fine weekly 
editions, all publishing the associated press and special telegrams,, 
and columns of spicy editorial and local matter. The Leader, 
published in the morning, is the pioneer, having been established 
during the earliest settlement, and grown in importance and 
influence with the general prosperity. The Sun, E. A. Slack,, 
editor and proprietor, and J. P. C. Poulton, associate editor, is- 
one of the brightest, newsiest and most original journals in the 
whole northwest, and for solid worth or genuine merit is praised 
in every hamlet of Wyoming. It is also issued as a morning 
daily. Published in the afternoon, the Gazette occupies a field 
exclusively its own, and occupies it in a very satisfactory manner,, 
as shown by its excellent patronage. 

Laramie. — Laramie City is beautifully situated on the east 



146 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

bank of the Laramie river, on the line of the Union Pacific rail- 
road, 572 miles west of Omaha. It is not only " Queen of the 
Laramie Plains," but of all Wyoming, for beauty of location, 
finely laid out streets and tree-embowered homes. The first 
building was erected in 1868, and without the serious collapse 
usually suffered by western towns, it has steadily advanced to the 
importance of a thriving, well built city of 3,500 souls, and is 
today more noticeable for its grand local resources, its large 
number of elegant churches, public improvements and resi- 
dences, and its excellent society, than any other city between 
Omaha and Salt Lake. 

Besides being the supply point for the entire Laramie plains, 
the great lumbering districts of southern and central Wyoming 
and of the grand mining region encircling her — all of which 
are elsewhere described — Laramie city contains the only rolling 
mills on the line of the Union Pacific railway. These were 
built by the Union Pacific company in 1875, at a cost of $250,000, 
and have a capacity of 20,000 tons of railroad iron per annum. 
An average of 200 men are constantly employed, and these, with 
a large force of machinists at work in the company's extensive 
car-shops, put many dollars into home circulation. 

The long rows of shade trees, well-kept lawns, and pretty 
flower gardens, are stimulated by the crystal waters of spring 
brooks which flow through all the streets, and by the utilization 
of an excellent system of water-works. The latter consist of iron 
pipes laid from a spring several miles back from the city, and 
which have so great a fall that an immense pressure is obtained 
from hydrants on all the streets. 

Business at the Laramie freight depot and at the post-office 
will give readers an idea of its extent in other lines. For the year 
ending June 30, 1877, freight was received to the amount of 17,- 
000,000 pounds, and collections on this amounted to $117,629.18. 
The post-office, conducted by Dr. J. H. Hayford, is a marvel of 
system and a fitting pattern for other institutions of the public 
service. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, $7,514.78 
worth of stamps were sold ; money orders issued to the amount 
of $56,237.84; surplus money order funds remitted, $40,400; 
fees on orders, $469.70; number of registered letters sent and 
received, 3,301. 

Laramie City is ably represented in the newspaper line by 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 147 

the daily and weekly Sentinel, Hayford & Gates, proprietors. 
It is one of the oldest institutions of the kind in Wyoming, is a 
thoroughly representative western paper and is appreciated as it 
should be by a large circle of readers. 

Few cities have assurances of a brighter future. The wealth 
of mines and forests, pastures and farm lands, and the grand 
auxiliaries furnished by unexcelled deposits of marble and soda, 
will, at Laramie, in the not distant future, command an atten- 
tion and insure a prosperity not yet dreamed of even by her own 
far-seeing and enthusiastic citizens. Laramie is also the county- 
seat of Albany county. 

From Laramie there is a tri-weekly mail route to the Hahn's 
Peak gold mines, in northern Colorado, 112 miles; to White 
River agency, Colorado, 228 miles ; weekly to Fort Laramie, 85 
miles; and weekly to the Centennial mines and Last Chance 
district, 30 and 40 miles respectively. 

Bawlins. — Rawlins is the county-seat of Carbon county, 
named after the late General John A. Rawlins, chief of General 
Grant's staff, and afterward Secretary of War. It is situated on 
the line of the Union Pacific railroad, 710 miles west of the Mis- 
souri river, and 322 miles east of Ogden, at an altitude of 6,540 
feet above the level of the sea, in the center of a rich mineral and 
grazing country, and has a population of about 1,000 people. It 
is the terminus of the Laramie freight division of the Union 
Pacific railroad, embracing a large depot, first-class railroad and 
mail facilities, round-house, and machine shops, at which about 
one hundred men are constantly employed. The town is well 
supplied with good water from large springs in the immediate 
vicinity, and distributed through iron pipes. It contains three 
good hotels, three general stores well stocked and doing an ex- 
tensive business, two telegraph offices, court-house, public school- 
house, new stone jail, two churches, a first-class drug store, jew- 
elry establishment, two blacksmith and wagon shops, livery and 
sale stable, and a large hall fitted up with stage and scenery 
for public entertainments. Masonic, Odd-Fellows, Good Tem- 
plars and other societies flourish. Here are also the two ex- 
tensive mills in which is manufactured the celebrated Rawlins 
Metallic paint, obtained by pulverizing a red hematite of iron 
ore found in large quantities about three miles north of Rawlins, 
on the route to the Big Horn. This paint is used exclusively by 
the Union Pacific and other railroad companies. 



148 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

The county for miles about Rawlins, and especially along the 
North Platte river, is well stocked with cattle, and the valleys 
are being rapidly settled. 

The merit which Rawlins, from its position on the Union 
Pacific railroad, possesses as a place of departure and outfitting 
for the Big Horn country will at once be seen by referring to the 
map. There are two excellent routes, descriptions of which 
are given in the chapters devoted to the Big Horn region. 
The large expedition to the Big Horn mountains sent out by 
the government in 1874, under the command of Captain Mills 
and conducted by Mr. Tom Sun, late government guide, going 
by one and returning by the other, passed over both routes, and 
the commander expressed himself as well pleased with both of 
them. 

The excellent facilities for shipping stock from Rawlins are 
beginning to attract their deserved attention, and thousands of 
head of cattle from Montana and from the great ranges in the 
vicinity of the railroad are being shipped eastward to market this 
season. One firm, whose ranch is located south of Rawlins, on 
Snake river, has recently effected a sale of beef cattle, to be deliv- 
ered here, the consideration of which was $52,000. 

Green River City. — Three hundred and twenty-nine miles 
west of Cheyenne, on the Union Pacific railroad, and occupying 
a central position in the Territory, is Green River City. It is 
located on the east bank of Green river, here a clear, swift stream 
averaging seventy-five yards in width. Green River City is the 
county seat of Sweetwater county, contains 600 inhabitants, ele- 
gant court-house and other public buildings, and is well supplied 
with extensive business houses, representing every line. It is the 
southern terminus of the Sweetwater daily stage line, and has 
well-founded aspirations for the travel and business of parties en 
route to the Big Horn and Wind River gold regions. The capable 
postmaster of Green River, Judge S. I. Fields, is one of the oldest 
settlers, and is regarded as the " Father of the Town," in that he 
has extensive land interests and directs his best energies toward 
building it up. He has experimented quite extensively in the 
cultivation of the soil in the suburbs of the town, and has estab- 
lished the fact that all of the hardy grains and vegetables flourish 
when irrigated. Green River City is the western end of one of 
the Union Pacific divisions, has one of the company's large repair 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 151 

shops and round-house, and other extensive railroad buildings. 
The Daily Press is published here every afternoon by Judge C. 
W. Holden, and is a sprightly twenty-column paper, having for 
its field the largest and perhaps richest county in the Territory. 
See engraving of Green River on another page. 

Evanston. — Evanston is the county seat of Uintah county, 
and is located in Bear River valley, in the extreme western part 
of the Territory. It contains 1,200 inhabitants, is built largely 
of brick and stone and boasts as fine churches, schools and pub- 
lic buildings as any of the Wyoming cities. The lumber, coal 
and charcoal interests, together with stock-growing, are the solid 
foundations of Evanston's prosperity. It is the designated ship- 
ping point for a large proportion of the Montana cattle w r hich 
find a southern market every season. To the north for a distance 
of 100 miles, extending into Utah and Idaho, is a fine agricul- 
tural and grazing country, which is settled by about 4,000 people. 
Unexcelled trout fishing in Bear river and tributaries, large sul- 
phur springs in the vicinity and most picturesque surroundings, 
combine to render Evanston a point much sought by tourists 
and health seekers. The bluffs surrounding abound with nearly 
every species of game, from the rabbit to the elk, and lend addi- 
tional charms for the sportsman. A ditch eight miles long 
brings the clear mountain water from Bear river down to the 
city and through its streets. Yellowstone Park is 290 miles due 
north of Evanston, and a good route leads thither via Bear val- 
ley and Caribou. A desirable route for western miners to the 
Big Horn is also located from here. Evanston post-office busi- 
ness for the fiscal year just ended is as follows: money orders 
issued, $28,239 ; remitted on orders, $22,695 ; orders paid, $4,722 ; 
fees and commissions, $191. The Evanston weekly Age, pub- 
lished here by Wm. E. Wheeler, is one of the essential and mer- 
itorious institutions. It faithfully represents the resources and 
capabilities of western Wyoming and is a most valuable member 
of the Territory's bright constellation of journals. 

Other Towns. — Among other towns worthy of mention are 
the following : Rock Springs, 320 miles west* of Cheyenne, the 
great coal mining town of central Wyoming. Population 450. 
Besides producing immense quantities of coal, Rock Springs the 
present season will ship 10,000 head of cattle. Hilliard, fourteen 
miles east of Evanston, is one of the most prominent lumbering 



152 



HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 



centers, and manufactures many thousand bushels of charcoal 
annually. South Pass, Atlantic City, and Miners' Delight, are 
important mining camps in Sweetwater county, and are destined 
to swell the bullion yield of Wyoming to a very large extent, as 
low-grade ores and the poorer gulches can be worked profitably 
by more practicable appliances. 

MISCELLANEOUS INFOBMATION. 

Post- Offices. — Following is a complete list of the post-offices 
in Wyoming, with the counties in which they are located, and the 
names of postmasters. Names of money-order offices, are marked 
with an * ; county seats in small capitals : 



Aliny 

Aspen 

Atlantic City 

Bear Springs , 

Bordeaux 

Camp Brown , 

Camp Stambaugh* . . . 

Cheyenne* 

Chugwater 

Chimney Rock 

Carbon 

Carter 

Centennial 

Dixon 

Davis Ranch 

Eagle Ranch 

Evanston* 

Farrel 

Ferris 

Fort Bridger* 

Fort Fetterman 

Fort Fred Steele 

Fort Halleck 

Fort Laramie* 

Granger 

Green River City* . 

Hat Creek 

Hilliard 

Lander 

Laramie City* 

Last Chance 

Little Horse Creek . '. . 

Little Moon 

Medicine Bow 

Miners' Delight 

North Fork 

Percy \ ». 

Piedmont 



Uintah 
Sweetwater 
Sweetwater 
Laramie . . . 
Laramie . . . 
Sweetwater 
Sweetwater 
Laramie . . . 
Laramie . . . 
Laramie . . . 
Uintah 
Uintah 
Carbon 

Carbon 

Laramie . . . 
Sweetwater 
Uintah 

Albany 

Carbon 

Uintah 

Albany 

Carbon 

Carbon 

Laramie . . . 

Uintah 

Sweetwater 
Laramie . . . 

Uintah 

Sweetwater 
Albany 

Albany 

Laramie . . . 

Laramie . . . 

Carbon 

Sweetwater 

Sweetwater 

Carbon 

Uintah 



POSTMASTER. 



N. Beeman. 
J. N. Adams. 
Robt. McAuley. 
Isaac Bard. 
Thos. Hunton. 
J. K. Moore. 
J. K Baldwin. 
H. Glafcke. 
John Phillips. 
J. McFarland. 
W. C. Bangs. 
Richard Carter. 
Thos. Markle. 
Susan Hugus. 
Henry Davis. 
B. F. Ward. 

E. S. Whittier. 
Edward Farrel. 
H. W. Smith. 
W. A. Carter. 
W. H. Murphy. 
J. W. Hugus. 
Robert Foote. 
J. W. Ford. 

F. B. Carley. 
S. I. Field.' 
J. Bowman. 
W. K. Sloan. 

P. P. Dickinson. 
J. H. Hayford. 
J. Beagle. 
Wm. McMinn. 
N. Janis. 
A. Trabing. 
James Kime. 
H. R. Prather. 
A. J. Bowie. 
A. B. Cameron. 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 



153 



OFFICE. 


COUNTY. 


POSTMASTER. 


Pine Bluffs 




J. R Gordon 


Pole Creek 


Laramie 


Fred Schwartz. 




James France. 


Red Buttes 


Albany 


Thos. A. McCool. 


Rock Creek 


Albany 


Herbert Thayer. 
0. C. Smith. 




Sweetwater 




W. N Gale. 


South Pass City 

Tie Siding 


Sweetwater 

Albany 


James Smith. 
J. W. Booth. 










Albany 


J. Allen. 









Schools, Churches, Societies and Libraries. — The following 
educational, religious and literary statistics will be found re- 
liable, and generally interesting: 



WYOMING PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



Counties. 


Superintendents. 


No. School 
Buildings. 


Schools. 


No. Pupils. 


Am't paid 
Teachers. 


Albany 

Carbon 

Laramie 

Sweetwater. . 
Uintah 


W. E. Hamilton. . 

Daniel Clay 

J. Y. Cowhick. . . . 
Chas. Washington 
Wm. E. Wheeler. 


3 
4 

1 
3 
5 


3 

i 

6 

8 


277 
260 
432 
190 
384 


$3,375 

1,826 
7,010 
2,461 
3,497 


Totals.... 





16 


27 


1,543 


$18,169 



Total value of public school property, $60,500. All counties 
have surplus school funds, and several are arranging to erect new 
buildings and make other needed improvements. 

All religious denominations are represented by good churches 
and membership. The total value of all church property closely 
approximates $100,000. 

There are in Wyoming five lodges of the Masonic order, nine 
lodges of Odd Fellows, two lodges of Knights of Pythias, and six 
temperance societies. Trades unions are also well represented. 

Siven good public and circulating libraries in the Territory 
(without including about an equal number at the military posts) 
contain an aggregate of 8,000 volumes. 

County Officers. — Following is a list of all county officers in 
Wyoming, corrected up to July 15, 1877 : 

Albany. — Commissioners, Henry Wagner, John S. McCool, 
N. A. Heath ; Sheriff, Daniel Nottage ; Clerk, J. W. Meldrum ; 
11 



154 



HAND-BOOK OP WYOMING. 



Probate Judge, J. W. Donnellan; Prosecuting Attorney, M. C. 
Brown ; Superintendent of Schools, "W. E. Hamilton ; Coroner, 
J. W. Dysart. 

Carbon. — Commissioners, James France, William Brauer, 
Wm. H. Kobson ; Sheriff, Isaac M. Lowry ; Attorney, Homer 
Merrell ; Clerk, Joseph B. Adams ; Probate Judge and Treasurer, 
W. L. Ash; Assessor, Hower L. Bair; Superintendent of Schools. 
Daniel B. Clay; Coroner, Ed. S. Snow. 

Laramie. — Commissioners, A. P. Swan, E. Nagle, J. Sparks ; 
Sheriff, T. J. Carr ; Probate Judge and Treasurer, C. F. Miller ; 
Attorney, W. H. Miller; Assessor, W. C. Pro vines; Coroner, 
G-. C. Goldacker. 

Sweetivater. — Commissioners, W. P. Noble, James Calhoun, 
Wm. F. O'Nealey; Sheriff, John W. Dykins; Probate Judge and 
Treasurer, A. E. Bradbury; Clerk, A. Mcintosh; Assessor, K. 
McLennan; Superintendent of Schools, J. H. Nason; Coroner, 
D. Rathbune. 

Uintah. — Commissioners, C. A. Phipps, Noel Beeman, F. H. 
Harrison; Sheriff, George W. Pepper ; Probate Judge and Trea- 
surer, Frank M. Foote; Attorney, H. Garbanati; Clerk, All G. 
Lee ; Surveyor, Alf. G. Lee. 

Banks and Bankers. — The following banks are in operation 
in Wyoming: 



City. 


Name of Bank. 


Paid-in 
Capital. 


Cashier. 




First National 


$75,000 


J. E. Wild 




Stebbins. Post <fc Co 


J. V. Jillich. 








North 


* a 








Laramie City 


Wyoming- National 

Warner <fc Dunbar 


50,000 


C. B. Root, 











MILITARY POSTS. 

Wyoming is afforded the best system of military protection of 
any of the Territories. The different forts and posts are located 
at the most practicable points for the certain protection of the 
frontier from marauders, either white or red. This system 
enables the Territory to extend more certain assurances of safety 
to the prospective settler, or to parties bound for the northern 
gold fields, than can be offered by any other commonwealth 

*Evaneton should be credited with a second institution, data in regard to it being 
withheld by the manager. 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 155 

adjacent. Nearly all successful sallies during the progress of the 
Sioux war have been made from these posts. 

Fort D. A. Russell — Fort Eussell is located two miles west of 
Che} / enne, in the southeastern corner of the Territory. It is 
designed to accommodate twelve companies — six each of cavalry 
and infantry, and is used as a general rendezvous for troops pass- 
ing to and from more isolated posts. Immense quantities of 
supplies for northern posts are constantly stored at Camp Carlin, 
near by, and are distributed from there as they may be needed. 

Fort Sanders lies on the Union Pacific railroad, on the Lara- 
mie plains, three miles south of Laramie City. It was established 
in 1866, and with subsequent additions accommodates six com- 
panies. During the incursions of Indians from the north, in the 
earlier history of the Territory, Fort Sanders was probably of 
more real utility than any of the others in Wyoming along the 
railroad. Eows of trees encircling the parade ground and in 
front of the officers' quarters, with a clear stream flowing imme- 
diately by, add very much to the beauty of the place. The fort 
and company gardens furnish fresh vegetables for the use of 
officers and troops. 

Fort Fred Steele. — Fort Steele is beautifully situated in the 
southern central part of the Territory, at the crossing of the 
Union Pacific railway over the North Platte. It was built in 1868 
and is a six-company fort. It is in the center of one of the finest 
agricultural and pastoral regions in the west, and the country for 
a hundred miles to the south has long been noted as the choicest 
hunting and trapping grounds. These attractions have always 
served to render the fort a general rendezvous for hundreds of 
ranchmen, hunters and trappers. 

Fort Bridger. — Fort Bridger is in Uintah county, in the val- 
ley drained by Black Fork of Green river, and is the most west- 
erly of Wyoming posts. It was established in 1858 as a means of 
protection and refuge for emigrants on the old California road. 
The soil in the valleys adjacent is fertile, and yields abundantly 
all the hardy grains and vegetables. Streams in the vicinity are 
well stocked with trout, and fine hunting is afforded in spurs of 
the Uintah mountains thirty to forty miles south. The staunch 
old fort has much unwritten and thrilling history of hardships 
and dangers incident to early pioneering. 

Camp Stambaugh is situated in Sweetwater county, 100 miles 



156 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

north of the Union Pacific railway. It is one of the smaller forts, 
being designed for only two companies. It was established as a 
permanent fort in 1870, for the protection of the then large min- 
ing camps, South Pass, Atlantic City and Hamilton City, all 
within a few miles of the fort. The Sweetwater stage line car- 
ries daily mails from Green Eiyer City to this fort. Telegraph 
to the Union Pacific. 

Camp Brown, — Camp Brown is also located in Sweetwater 
county, in the fertile valley of the South Fork of Little Wind 
river. It is 160 miles north of the Union Pacific railroad, and is 
connected with Camp Stambaugh by a good wagon road, over 
which stages of the Sweetwater line run daily. The post was 
established in compliance with the terms of a treaty with the 
Shoshone and Bannock Indians (who of late years have been 
faithful allies of the whites) for their protection against Sioux, 
Arapahoe, Cheyenne and other hostile bands. The agency of 
the friendly Indians above noted is located a mile and a half 
from the fort. This section of country has been the hunting 
ground and winter quarters for some few wiiite trappers since 
1849, and scattered over this and contiguous valleys are burnt 
ranches and rude graves, attesting the success with which hostile 
Indians have raided them. The valley in which the fort is 
located is about forty miles long and three miles wide. The soil 
is a dark, sandy loam, yielding large returns for the labor be- 
stowed upon it. 

Fort Laramie is located on the Laramie river, ninety-two 
miles north of Cheyenne, and is the oldest as well as the most 
important fort in Wyoming. There are barracks for seven com- 
panies, and among the relics of the earliest days are concrete 
block houses and rows of earthworks surrounding the site. The 
old overland road to Oregon passes up the North Platte here, and 
one of the routes to Montana and the Big Horn region, as well 
as the unexcelled Cheyenne and Black Hills stage road, lies across 
this reserve. Fort Laramie has daily mail service to Cheyenne 
and the Black Hills cities, semi-weekly to Fort Fetterman, eighty 
miles distant, and weekly to Laramie City, on the Union Pacific. 
It is also connected with Cheyenne by telegraphic wires, and in 
the same way with Fort Fetterman and other northern and 
northeastern points. It has for many years been the rallying 
point for trappers, prospectors and emigrants, and during the 



COUNTIES. CITIES. MILITARY POSTS. ETC. 157 

recent troubles with the Sioux has played a very important and 
necessary part. Some of the best stock ranges in Wyoming are 
located along the tributaries of the Laramie and Platte rivers, 
within fifty miles of the fort. 

Fort Fetterman. — Eighty miles northwest of the fort just de- 
scribed is Fort Fetterman. It is located on the south bank of 
the Xorth Platte, and for ten years has been the extreme north- 
western fort in this section of Wyoming. It has been the start- 
ing and supply point for General Crook's different expeditions, 
and is looked to for protection by the scattering ranchmen located 
within fifty miles south and southeast. The Cheyenne route to 
the Big Horn region crosses the Platte here, and two good wagon 
roads run south to the Union Pacific railroad — to Medicine Bow 
station, eighty-five. miles, and to Eock Creek, seventy miles. 

Cantonment Reno. — Ninety miles northwest of Fort Fetter- 
man, on Powder river, and near the base of the Big Horn moun- 
tains, is the temporary supply post, Cantonment Eeno. It was 
established in the fall of 1876, near the site of old Fort Reno, 
as a base of supplies for the expeditions operating against the 
Sioux. The old Pumpkin Butte Trail, from the Black Hills, 
crosses the Powder near here, as does also the Cheyenne road, 
and the hundreds of miners who have recently flocked into the 
Big Horn region have made the cantonment their outfitting and 
organizing point. The southeastern base of the Big Horn range 
is about forty miles distant. Four companies of infantry at 
present (July 15) constitute the garrison, and are comfortably 
quartered in log huts built by themselves. 

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 

Altitudes. — The following are the altitudes of prominent points 
in Wyoming as determined by capable engineers. In the case of 
the Black Hills peaks, observations of different engineers have 
not resulted alike, and the ones believed to be most reliable are 
quoted : 

Feet. 

Laramie Bottom at mouth of Chugwater 4,500 

Chugwater 5.460 

Platte Valley at Fort Fetterman 4.970 

Yellowstone Park (average ) 7.403 

Evanston 6.770 

Millis 6.790 

Gilbert's Peak 13.250 



158 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

Feet. 

Hilliard 7,310 

Aspen 7,835 

Piedmont 7,540 

Bridger 6,780 

Carter 6,550 

Church Butte 6,317 

Granger 6,270 

Bryan 6,340 

Green River City 6,140 

Rock Springs 6,280 

Rawlins 6,732 

Fort Fred Steele 6,840 

Carbon 6,750 

Medicine Bow 6,550 

Cooper's Lake 7,044 

Laramie Peak 10,000 

Snow's Peak (Wind River range) 13,570 

Laramie City 7,123 

Red Buttes 7,336 

Sherman, highest point on U. P. R. R 8,242 

Cheyenne 6,041 

Powder River at old Fort Reno : 4,340 

Clear Fork, of Powder 4,560 

Old Fort Phil Kearney 4,770 

Tongue River (average) 3,500 

Cloud Peak (not official) 13,000 

Lake Carpenter, Big Horn mountains 11,000 

Inyan Kara Peak, Black Hills 6,500 

Harney's Peak, Black Hills 7,700 

Bare Butte, Black Hills 4,800 

Belle Fourch, near Black Hills 3,734 

Floral Valley, in Black Hills 6,196 

Castle Creek Valley 6,136 

Expense of Living. — We will take Cheyenne as a fair example 
in different statements following. Board at first-class hotels, 
transient, $3 to $4 per day; board at first-class hotels, per week, 
$12 to $15 ; at ordinary boarding houses, $6 to $9 per week. 
Ordinary expenses of housekeeping are about twenty-five per 
cent, higher than at points east of the Mississippi. 

Wages. — Wages in Wyoming settlements average about as 
follows: Salesmen, $75 to $125 per month; carpenters, $3 per 
day; bricklayers, $4; plasterers, $3; ranch hands and herders, 
$30 per month and board; teamsters, $28 per month and board. 

Building Material, — Brick, $9.50 per thousand; common 



COUNTIES, CITIES, MILITARY POSTS, ETC. 159 

native lumber, $25 per thousand ; best dressed lumber, $45 ; 
lime, 40 cents per bushel; plastering cement, $5 per barrel. 
Hardware as low as in the east, with freight added. 

Railway and Telegraph Rates. — First-class fare, Cheyenne to 
Chicago, $47 ; to Omaha, $31 ; to Denver, $7 ; to St. Louis, $47 ; 
to New York city, $70; stage fare to Deadwood,. $50. Tele- 
graphic rates, ten words, Cheyenne to Chicago, $1 ; to Dead- 
wood, $2.50; Custer City, $2. 

To Outfitters. — Those who desire to purchase their own teams 
for the transportation of miners and miners' supplies, can pro- 
cure an outfit to much better advantage in Cheyenne than else- 
where. Groceries, provisions, clothing, mining tools, and all 
other necessary articles can be procured at this point. The 
following may be considered average prices for animals and 
wagons : 

Team of two horses $100 to $250 

Team of two mules 200 " 300 

Oxen, per yoke 80 " 100 

Saddle horse 40 " 75 

Saddle mule .'. 40 " 60 

Pack horse 40 " 60 

Pack mule 40 " 50 

Two-horse wagon 100 " 125 

Four-horse wagon 125 " 150 

Following is the average price of provisions : 

Flour per sack, $3 00 to $4 50 

Bacon T. per lb., 15 " 16 

Syrup per gal., 75 " 1 25 

Coffee, Rio per lb., 26 " 30 

Sugar " 12^" 15 

Tea " 60" 150 

Baking powders " 45 " 50 

Beans " 6 '• 7 

Grain — corn per cwt., 1 90 " 2 00 

oats - - 2 50" 2 60 



CHAPTER II. 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 

rj \EE following synopsis of laws now in force in Wyoming, re- 
-■- lating to exemptions, limitations, interest, etc., and the 
different mining and homestead laws applicable to the wants of 
settlers, should be generally scrutinized : 

Exemptions. — Every householder, being at the head of a 
family, is entitled ito a homestead not exceeding in value fifteen 
hundred dollars, exempt from execution or attachment for any 
debt, contract or civil obligation, while such homestead is actu- 
ally occupied as such by the owner thereof, or his or her family. 
The homestead may consist of a house and lot, or lots, in any 
town or city, or a farm of not more than one hundred and sixty 
acres. The owner of a homestead may mortgage the same, but 
such mortgage shall not be binding against the wife of a married 
man who may be occupying the premises with him, unless she 
shall freely and voluntarily acknowledge and sign the same, and 
the officer taking such acknowledgment shall fully apprise her of 
her rights, and of the effect of signing such mortgage. 

Besides the homestead above mentioned, the wearing apparel 
of every person is exempt from judicial or ministerial process; 
also the following property, when owned by any person being the 
head of a family and residing with the same, to wit : The family 
bible, pictures and school books, a lot in any cemetery or burial 
ground, furniture, bedding, provisions, and such other articles as 
the debtor may select, not to exceed in all the value of five hun- 
dred dollars, to be ascertained by the appraisement of three dis- 
interested householders ; Provided, that no personal property of 
any person about to remove or abscond from the Territory shall 
be exempt. The tools, team and implements, or stock in trade 
of a mechanic, miner, or other person, and used and kept for the 
purpose of carrying on his trade or business, is exempt to a value 
not exceeding three hundred dollars ; also the library, instru- 
ments or implements of any professional man, not to exceed in 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 161 

value three hundred dollars. The person claiming exemption 
must in all cases be a bona-fide resident of the Territory. 

Limitation of Actions. — Civil actions can be brought only 
within the following periods, after the cause of action shall have 
accrued : 

1. An action for the recovery of bonds, tenements and here- 
ditaments, within twenty-one years. 

2. An action of forcible entry and detainer, within two years. 

3. An action upon a specialty, or any agreement, or contract, 
or promise in writing, within fifteen years. 

4. An action upon a contract not in writing, within six years. 

5. An action for trespass upon real property, or for taking, 
detaining or injuring personal property, including actions for the 
specific recovery of personal property, within*four years. 

6. An action for libel, slander, assault and battery, malicious 
prosecution, or false imprisonment, within one year. 

7. An action upon the official bond or undertaking of an ex- 
ecutor, administrator, guardian, sheriff, or other officer, or upon 
the bond or undertaking given in attachment, injunctions, arrest, 
or any cause whatever, required by statutes, within ten years. 

8. An action for any cause not before enumerated, within ten 
years. If any person entitled to bring any of the foregoing ac- 
tions — except an action for the recovery of real property, and 
except a penalty or forfeiture — be, at the time the cause of action 
accrues, within the age of twenty-one years, a married woman, 
insane or imprisoned, the action may be brought within the times 
above limited, after such disability shall have been removed. If, 
when the cause of action accrues against a person, he be out of 
the Territory, or shall have absconded, or concealed himself, the 
period limited for the commencement of the action shall not be- 
gin to run until he comes into the Territory, or while he is ab- 
sconded or concealed. If, after the cause of action accrues, he 
depart or conceal himself, the time of such absence or conceal- 
ment shall not be computed as any part of the period within 
which the action must be brought. Where the cause of action 
has arisen in another State or Territory, between non-residents 
of this Territory, and, by the laws of the State or Territory where 
the cause of action arose, an action cannot be maintained thereon 
by reason of lapse of time, no action can be maintained thereon in 
this Territory. In any case founded on contract, part payment 



162 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

of principal or interest, or an acknowledgment of existing debt, 
liability or claim in writing signed by the party to be charged, 
takes the case out of the statute, and an action may be brought 
within the times limited, after such part payment or acknowledg- 
ment. 

Interest. — Any rate of interest may be agreed upon in writing, 
but in the absence of express contract, all monies, claims or 
judgments draw interest at the rate of twelve per cent, per an- 
num; unsettled accounts draw interests after thirty days from 
date of the last item. There is no usury law. 

United States Mining Laws — Qualifications of Mining Claim- 
ants. — All citizens of the United States, or persons who have in 
due form declared their intention to become citizens, are quali- 
fied to locate for themselves mining claims on the public lands 
of the United States, and two or more persons or associations 
of persons thus qualified may make a joint entry of land under 
the mineral laws, and individuals who are not citizens and any 
persons whomsoever may afterward become joint or sole owners. 

Proof of Citizenship in the case of an individual may consist 
of his own affidavit thereof; and in the case of an association of 
persons unincorporated, of the affidavit of their authorized agent, 
made on his own knowledge or upon information and belief; and 
in case of a corporation organized under the laws of the United 
States, or of any State or Territory of the United States, by filing 
a certified copy of their charter, or certificate of incorporation. 
These affidavits may be taken before the register or receiver of 
the land district, or any other officer authorized to administer 
oaths within the district. 

Placer Claims. — No location of a placer claim can be made to 
exceed one hundred and sixty acres, whatever be the number of 
locators associated together, or whatever the local regulations of 
the district may allow; no location made by an individual can 
exceed twenty acres, and no location made by an association of 
individuals can exceed one hundred and sixty acres, which loca- 
tion of one hundred and sixty acres cannot be made by a less 
number than eight lona-fide locators; but whether as much as 
twenty acres can be located by an individual, or one hundred 
and sixty acres by an association, depends entirely upon the 
mining regulations in force in the respective districts at the date 
of the location ; it being held that such mining regulations are 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 163 

in no way enlarged by said acts of Congress, but remain intact 
and in full force with regard to the size of locations, in so far as 
they do not permit locations in excess of the limits fixed by 
Congress. 

The miners of each district may make rules and regulations 
not in conflict with the laws of the United States, or of the State 
or Territory in which such districts are respectively situated, 
governing the location, manner of recording and amount of 
work necessary to hold possession of a claim ; but the location 
must be so distinctly marked on the ground that its boundaries 
may be readily traced. This is a very important matter, and 
locators cannot exercise too much care in defining their locations 
-at the outset, inasmuch as the law requires that all records of 
mining locations made ■ subsequent to its passage shall contain 
the name or names of the locators, the date of the location, and 
such a description of the claim or claims located, by reference to 
some natural object or permanent monument, as will identify 
the claim. 

To make the identification clear the claimant should state the 
names of adjoining claims, or if none adjoin, the relative positions 
of the nearest claims ; should drive a post or erect a monument 
of stones at each corner of his surface-ground, and at some point 
thereon should fix a post, stake or board, upon which should be 
designated the name or names of the locators and the extent of 
the claim in each direction from this point. 

Within a reasonable time, say twenty days after the location 
shall have been marked on the ground, notice thereof, accurately 
describing the claim in manner aforesaid, should be filed for 
record with the proper recorder of the district, who will there- 
upon issue the usual certificate of location. 

In order to retain the possessory right to any placer claim, 
it must be actually worked to a reasonable extent, and within a 
reasonable time, according to the local regulations, and if even 
after having been so worked it should be left beyond the time 
prescribed in the local regulations, it may be treated as aban- 
doned, and be thereupon taken by another person. 

Patents for Placer Claims. — The law provides, in respect of 
placer claims, that "where said person or association, they and 
their grantors, shall have held and worked their said claims for a 
period equal to the time prescribed by the statute of limitations 



164 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

for mining claims for the State or Territory where the same may 
be situated, evidence of such possession and working of the 
claims for such period shall be sufficient to establish a right to a 
patent thereto under this act in the absence of any adverse claim." 

When an applicant desires to make his proof of possessory 
right in accordance with this provision of law, the register will 
not require him to produce evidence of location, copies of con- 
veyances, or abstracts of title, as in other cases, but will require 
him to furnish a duly certified copy of the statute of limitations 
of mining claims for the State or Territory, together with his 
sworn statement giving a clear and succinct narration of the 
facts as to the origin of his title, and likewise as to the continua- 
tion of his possession of the mining ground covered by his appli- 
cation ; the area thereof, the nature and extent of the mining 
that has been done thereon; whether there has been any opposi- 
tion to his possession or litigation with regard to his claim, and 
if so, when the same ceased; whether such cessation was caused 
by compromise or by judicial decree, and any additional facts 
within the claimant's knowledge having a direct bearing upon 
his possession and hona-fides which he may desire to submit in 
support of his claim. 

There should likewise be filed a certificate, under seal of the 
court having jurisdiction of mining cases within the judicial 
district embracing the claim, that no suit or action of any 
character whatever involving the right of possession to any por- 
tion of the claim applied for is pending, and that there has been 
no litigation before said court affecting the title to said claim or 
any part thereof for a period equal to the time fixed by the 
statute of limitations for mining claims in the State or Territory 
aforesaid, other than that which has finally been decided in favor 
of the claimant. 

The claimant should support his narrative of facts relative 
to his possession, occupancy and improvements by corroborative 
testimony of any disinterested person or persons of credibility 
who may be cognizant of the facts in the case and are capable of 
testifying understanding^ in the premises. 

It will be to the advantage of claimants to make their proofs 
as full and complete as practicable. 

The government price of the placer mines is two dollars and 
fifty cents per acre. 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 165 

Veins or Ixodes. — Any person who is a citizen of the United 
States, or who has declared his intention to become a citizen, 
may locate, record and hold a mining claim of fifteen hundred 
linear feet along the course of any mineral vein or lode subject 
to location ; or an association of persons, so qualified, may make 
joint location of such claim of fifteen hundred feet, but in no 
event can a location of a vein or lode, except fifteen hundred feet 
along the course thereof, whatever may be the number of persons 
composing the association. 

The lateral extent of locations of veins or lodes may in no 
case exceed three hundred feet on each side of the middle of the 
vein at the surface, and no such surface rights shall be limited 
by any mining regulations to less than twenty-five feet on each 
side of the middle of the vein at the surface, the end lines of 
such claims to be in all cases parallel to each other. 

The act provides that no lode-claim can be recorded until 
after the discovery of a vein or lode within the limits of the 
ground claimed ; the object of which provision is evidently to 
prevent the encumbering of the district mining records with 
useless locations before sufficient work has been done thereon to 
determine whether a vein or lode has really been discovered or 
not. 

The claimant should therefore, prior to recording his claim, 
unless the vein can be traced upon the surface, sink a shaft, or 
run a tunnel or drift, to a sufficient depth therein to discover 
and develop a mineral-bearing vein, lode or crevice ; should de- 
termine, if possible, the general course of such vein in either 
direction from the point of discovery, by which direction he will 
be governed in marking the boundaries of his claim on the sur- 
face, and should give the course and distance as nearly as prac- 
ticable from the discovery-shaft on the claim to some permanent, 
well-known points or objects, such, for instance, as stone monu- 
ments, blazed trees, the confluence of streams, point of intersec- 
tion of well-known gulches, ravines or roads, prominent butes, 
hills, etc., which may be in the immediate vicinity, and which 
will serve to perpetuate and fix the locus of the claim and render 
it susceptible of identification from the description thereof given 
in the record of locations in the district. 

To make the identification clear, the claimant should state 
the names of adjoining claims, or if none adjoin, the relative po- 



166 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

sition of the nearest claims ; he should drive a post or erect a 
monument of stones at each corner of his surface-ground, and at 
the point of discovery or discovery-shaft should fix a post, stake 
or board, upon which should be designated the name of the lode,, 
the name of the locator, and the number of feet claimed each 
way on the lode from the discovery point. 

Within a reasonable time after the location shall have been 
marked on the ground, notice thereof, accurately describing it 
as above mentioned, should be filed for record with the proper 
recorder of the district, who will thereupon issue the usual cer- 
tificate of location. 

In order to hold the possessory right to a claim of fifteen 
hundred feet of a vein or lode, not less than one hundred dollars' 
worth of labor shall be performed or improvements made thereon 
in each year, in default of which the claim will be subject to re- 
location by any other person or persons having the necessary 
qualifications, unless the original locator, his heirs, assigns or 
legal representatives shall have renewed work thereon after such 
failure and before such re-location. 

These details in the matter of location, labor and expenditure 
should receive careful attention, because neglect of them may 
cause expensive litigation or totally invalidate an otherwise most 
valuable claim. 

Mill Sites. — Where non-mineral land not contiguous to the 
vein or lode is used or occupied by the proprietor of such vein or 
lode for mining or milling purposes, such non-adjacent surface- 
ground may be embraced and included in an application for a 
patent for such vein or lode, and the same may be patented 
therewith, subject to the same preliminary requirements as to 
survey and notice as are applicable to veins or lodes : Provided, 
that no location of such non-adjacent land shall exceed five acres, 
and payment for the same must be made at the same rate as fixed 
for the superfices of the lode. The owner of a quartz-mill or re- 
duction works, not owning a mine in connection therewith, may 
also receive a patent for his mill site. 

To avail themselves of this provision of law, parties holding 
the possessory right to a vein or lode, and to a piece of land not 
contiguous thereto, for mining or milling purposes, not exceed- 
ing the quantity allowed for such purpose by the local rules, reg- 
ulations or customs, the proprietors of such vein or lode may file 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 167 

in the proper land office their application for a patent, under 
oath, which application, together with the plat and field-notes, 
may include, embrace and describe, in addition to the vein or 
lode, such non-contiguous mill site, and after due proceedings as 
to notice, etc., a patent will be issued conveying the same as one 
claim. 

In making the survey in a case of this kind, the lode-claim 
should be described in the plat and field-notes as " Lot No. 37 y 
A," and the mill site as " Lot No. 37, B," or whatever may be its 
appropriate numerical designation ; the course and distance from 
a corner of the mill site to a corner of the lode-claim to be inva- 
riably given in such plat and field-notes, and a copy of the plat 
and notice of application for patent must be conspicuously 
posted upon the mill site, as well as upon the vein or lode, for 
the statutory period of sixty days. In making the entry no sep- 
arate receipt or certificate need be issued for the mill site, but the 
whole area of both lode and mill site will be embraced in one- 
entry, the price being five dollars for each acre and fractional 
part of an acre embraced by such lode and mill-site claim. 

In case the owner of a quartz-mill or reduction works is not 
the owner or claimant of a vein or lode, the law permits him to 
make application therefor in the same manner prescribed therein 
for mining claims, and after due notice and proceedings, in the 
absence of a valid adverse filing, to enter and receive a patent for 
his mill site, at five dollars per acre. 

In every case there must be satisfactory proof that the land 
claimed as a mill site is not mineral in character, which proof 
may, where the matter is unquestioned, consist of the sworn 
statement of the claimant, supported by that of one or more dis- 
interested persons capable from acquaintance with the land to 
testify understandingly. 

The law expressly limits mill-site locations made from and 
after its passage to five acres, but whether so much as that can 
be located depends upon the local customs, rules or regulations. 

The registers and receivers will preserve an unbroken consec- 
utive series of numbers for all mineral entries. 

Tunnel Rights. — Where a tunnel is run for the development 
of a vein or lode, or for the discovery of mines, the owners of 
such tunnel shall have the right of possession of all veins or 
lodes within three thousand feet from the face of such tunnel on 



168 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

the line thereof, not previously known to exist, discovered in 
such tunnel, to the same extent as if discovered from the surface ; 
and locations on the line of such tunnel of veins or lodes not 
appearing on the surface, made by other parties after the com- 
mencement of the tunnel, and while the same is being prosecuted 
with reasonable diligence, shall be invalid, but failure to prosecute 
the work on the tunnel for six months shall be considered as an 
abandonment of the right to all undiscovered veins or lodes on 
the line of said tunnel. 

The effect of this section is simply to give the proprietors of 
a mining tunnel run in good faith the possessory right to fifteen 
hundred feet of any blind lodes cut, discovered or intersected by 
such tunnel, which were not previously known to exist, within 
three thousand feet from the face or point of commencement of 
such tunnel, and to prohibit other parties, after the commence- 
ment of the tunnel, from prospecting for and making locations 
of lodes on the line thereof and within said distance of three 
thousand feet, unless such lodes appear upon the surface or were 
previously known to exist. 

The term " face," as used in said section, is construed and 
held to mean the first working face formed in the tunnel, and to 
signify the point at which the tunnel actually enters cover, it 
being from this point that the three thousand feet are to be 
counted, upon which prospecting is prohibited as aforesaid. 

To avail themselves of the benefits of this provision of law, 
the proprietors of a mining tunnel will be required, at the time 
they enter cover, to give proper notice of their tunnel location, 
by erecting a substantial post, board, or monument, at the face 
or point of commencement thereof, upon which should be posted 
a good and sufficient notice, giving the names of the parties or 
company claiming the tunnel right ; the actual or proposed course 
or direction of the tunnel; the height and width thereof, and the 
course and distance from such face or point of commencement to 
some permanent well-known objects in the vicinity by which to 
fix and determine the locus in manner heretofore set forth appli- 
cable to locations of veins or lodes; and at the time of posting- 
such notice they shall, in order that miners or prospectors may 
be enabled to determine whether or not they are within the lines 
of the tunnel, establish the boundary lines thereof by stakes or 
monuments placed along such lines at proper intervals, to the 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 169 

terminus of the three thousand feet from the face or point of 
commencement of the tunnel, and the lines so marked will define 
and govern as to the specific boundaries within which prospecting 
for lodes not previously known to exist is prohibited while work 
on the tunnel is being prosecuted with reasonable diligence. 

At the time of posting notice and marking out the lines of 
the tunnel as aforesaid, a full and correct copy of such notice of 
location defining the tunnel claim must be filed for record with 
the mining recorder of the district, to which notice must be 
attached the sworn statement or declaration of the owners, claim- 
ants or projectors of such tunnel, setting forth the facts in the 
case ; stating the amount expended by themselves and their pre- 
decessors in interest in prosecuting work thereon, the extent of the 
work performed, and that it is bona-fide their intention to prose- 
cute work on the tunnel so located and described with reasonable 
diligence for the development of a vein or lode, or for the dis- 
covery of mines, or both, as the case may be. 

This notice of location must be duly recorded, and, with the 
said sworn statement attached, kept on the recorder's files for 
future reference. 

By a compliance with the foregoing, much needless difficulty 
will be avoided, and the way for the adjustment of legal rights 
acquired in virtue of the act will be made much more easy and 
certain. 

This portion of the law is very important and fruitful in 
adverse claims, and the United States land office is supposed to 
take particular care that no improper advantage of it is taken by 
parties making or professing to make tunnel locations, ostensibly 
for the purposes named in the statute, but really for the purpose 
of monopolizing the lands lying in front of their tunnels to the 
detriment of the mining interests and to the exclusion of bona- 
fide prospectors or miners, and it will hold such tunnel claimants 
to a strict compliance with the terms of the act; and as reason- 
able diligence on their part in prosecuting the work is one of the 
essential conditions of their implied contract, negligence or want 
of due diligence will be construed as working a forfeiture of their 
right to all undiscovered veins on the line of such tunnel. 

Government Titles to .Vein or Lode Claims. — The claimant 
is required, in the first place, to have a correct survey of his claim 
made under authority of the surveyor general of the State or 
12 



170 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

Territory in which the claim lies ; such survey to show with ac- 
curacy the exterior surface boundaries of the claim, which bound- 
aries are required to be distinctly marked by monuments on the 
ground. 

The claimant is then required to post a copy of the plat of 
such survey in a conspicuous place upon the claim, together with 
notice of his intention to apply for a patent therefor, which 
notice will give the date of posting, the name of the claimant, 
the name of the claim, mine or lode; the mining district and 
county ; whether the location is of record, and if so, where the 
record may be found ; the number of feet claimed along the vein 
and the presumed direction thereof ; the number of feet claimed 
on the lode in each direction from the point of discovery, or 
other well defined place on the claim ; the name or names of ad- 
joining claimants on the same or other lodes ; or if none adjoin, 
the names of the nearest claims, etc. 

After posting the said plat and notice upon the premises, the 
claimant will file with the proper register and receiver a copy of 
such plat, and the field-notes of survey of the claim, accompanied 
by the affidavit of at least two credible witnesses that such plat 
and notice are posted conspicuously upon the claim, giving the 
date and place of such posting ; a copy of the notice so posted to 
be attached to, and form a part of, said affidavit. 

Attached to the field-notes so filed must be the sworn state- 
ment of the claimant that he has the possessory right to the 
premises therein described, in virtue of a compliance by himself 
(and by his grantors, if he claims by purchase,) with the mining 
rules, regulations and customs of the mining district, State or 
Territory in which the claim lies, and with the mining laws of 
Congress ; such sworn statement to narrate briefly, but as clearly 
as possible, the facts constituting such compliance, the origin of 
his possession, and the basis of his claim to a patent. 

This affidavit should be supported by appropriate evidence 
from the mining recorder's office as to his possessory right, as 
follows, namely : Where he claims to be a locator, a full, true and 
correct copy of such location should be furnished, as the same 
appears upon the mining records; such copy to be attested by 
the seal of the recorder, or if he has no seal, then he should 
make oath to the same being correct, as shown by his records ; 
where the applicant claims as a locator in company with others, 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 171 

who have since conveyed their interests in the lode to him, a 
copy of the original record of location should be filed, together 
with an abstract of title from the proper recorder, under seal or 
oath as aforesaid, tracing the colocator's possessory rights in the 
claim to such applicant for patent; where the applicant claims 
only as a purchaser for valuable consideration, a copy of the loca- 
tion record must be filed, under seal or upon oath as aforesaid, 
with an abstract of title certified as above by the proper recorder, 
tracing the right of possession by a continuous chain of convey- 
ances from the original locators to the applicant. 

In the event of the mining records in any case having been 
destroyed by fire or otherwise lost, affidavit of the fact should 
be made, and secondary evidence of possessory title will be re- 
ceived, which may consist of the affidavit of the claimant, sup- 
ported by those of any other parties cognizant of the facts 
relative to his location, occupancy, possession, improvements, 
etc. ; and in such case of lost records, any deeds, certificates of 
location or purchase, or other evidence which may be in the claim- 
ant's possession, and tend to establish his claim, should be filed. 

Upon the receipt of these papers the register will, at the 
expense of the claimant, publish a notice of such application for 
the period of sixty days, in a newspaper published nearest to the 
claim, and will post a copy of such notice in his office for the 
same period. The notices so published and posted must be as 
full and complete as possible, and embrace all the data given in 
the notice posted upon the claim. Too much care cannot be 
exercised in the preparation of these notices, inasmuch as upon 
their accuracy and completeness will depend, in a great measure, 
the regularity and validity of the whole proceeding. 

The claimant, either at the time of filing these papers with 
the register, or at any time during the sixty days' publication, is 
required to file a certificate of the surveyor general that not less 
than five hundred dollars' worth of labor has been expended or 
improvements made upon the claim by the applicant or his 
grantors ; that the plat filed by the claimant is correct ; that the 
field notes of the survey, as filed, furnish such an accurate 
description of the claim as will, if incorporated into a patent, 
serve to fully identify the premises, and that such reference is 
made therein to natural objects or permanent monuments as will 
perpetuate and fix the locus thereof. 



172 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

It will be the more convenient way to have this certificate 
indorsed by the surveyor general, both upon the plat and field- 
notes of survey filed by the claimant as aforesaid. 

After the sixty days' period of newspaper publication has 
expired, the claimant will file his affidavit, showing that the 
plat and notice aforesaid remained conspicuously posted upon 
the claim sought to be patented during said sixty days' pub- 
lication. 

Upon the filing of this affidavit the register will, if no adverse 
claim was filed in his office during the period of publication, per- 
mit the claimant to pay for the land according to the area given 
in the plat and field-notes of survey aforesaid, at the rate of five 
dollars for each acre and five dollars for each fractional part of 
an acre, the receiver issuing the usual duplicate receipt therefor ; 
after which the whole matter will be forwarded to the commis- 
sioner of the general land office and a patent issued thereon if 
found regular. 

In sending up the papers in the case the register must not 
omit certifying to the fact that the notice was posted in his office 
for the full period of sixty days, such certificate to state distinctly 
when such posting was done and how long continued. 

Adverse Claims. — An adverse mining claim must be filed 
with the register of the same land office with whom the applica- 
tion for patent was filed, or in his absence with the receiver, and 
within the sixty days' period of newspaper publication of notice. 

The adverse notice must be duly sworn to before an officer 
authorized to administer oaths within the land district, or before 
the register or receiver; it must fully set forth the nature and 
extent of the interference or conflict; whether the adverse party 
claims as a purchaser for valuable consideration or as a locator ; 
if the former, the original conveyance, or a duly certified copy 
thereof, should be furnished, or if the transaction was a mere 
verbal one he will narrate the circumstances attending the pur- 
chase, the date thereof, and the amount paid, which facts should 
be supported by the affidavit of one or more witnesses, if any 
were present at the time, and if he claims as a locator he must 
file a duly certified copy of the location from the office of the 
proper recorder. 

In order that the "boundaries" and "extent" of the claim 
may be shown, it will be incumbent upon the adverse claimant 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 173 

to file a plat showing his claim and its relative situation or posi- 
tion with the one against which he claims, so that the extent of 
the conflict may be the better understood. This plat must be 
made from an actual survey by a United States deputy surveyor, 
who will officially certify thereon to its correctness; and in addi- 
tion there must be attached to such plat of survey a certificate 
or sworn statement by the surveyor as to the approximate value 
of the labor performed or improvements made upon the claim of 
the adverse party, and the plat must indicate the position of any 
shafts, tunnels, or other improvements, if any such exist upon 
the claim of the party opposing the application. 

Upon the foregoing being filed within the sixty days as afore- 
said, the register, or in his absence the receiver, will give notice 
in writing to both parties to the contest that such adverse claim 
has been filed, informing them that the party who filed the 
adverse claim will be required, within thirty days from the date 
of such filing, to commence proceedings in a court of competent 
jurisdiction, to determine the question of right of possession, and 
to prosecute the same with reasonable diligence to final judg- 
ment, and that should such adverse claimant fail to do so, his 
adverse claim will be considered waived, and the application for 
patent be allowed to proceed upon its merits. 

When an adverse claim is filed as aforesaid, the register or 
receiver will indorse upon the same the precise date of filing, 
and preserve a record of the date of notifications issued thereon ; 
and thereafter all proceedings on the application for patent will 
be suspended, with the exception of the completion of the pub- 
lication and posting of notices and plat, and the filing of the 
necessary proof thereof, until the controversy shall have been 
adjudicated in court, or the adverse claim waived or withdrawn. 

In the foregoing abstract of the mining laws of the United 
States it will be observed that reference is frequently made to the 
mining statutes of the particular State or Territory in which the 
claim is situated, and also to the local regulations of the Mining 
District. Many of the miners of the Black Hills are within the 
Territory of Dakota, the legislature of which has passed a law in 
relation thereto. This limits the width of a lode claim to 150 
feet (instead of 300) on each side of the lode, but gives power to 
the county to increase or diminish the width by vote at a general 
election. Also that the discoverer must record his claim within 



174 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

three months after discovery with the recorder or register of 
deeds of the county, before which the claim must be located; and 
besides the discovery, shaft or equivalent adit, open cut, cross 
cut, or tunnel to be completed in sixty days from discovery, and 
the sign or notice posted there, the boundaries must be marked 
by eight substantial jiosts, hewed or blazed on the side facing the 
claim, and sunk in the ground, or if this is impracticable, held 
in place by stones — one at each corner, one at each end of the 
lode, and one at the centre of each side-line. 

Re-locations are substantially like new ones. Not only must 
at least one hundred dollars' worth of work and improvements be 
done in a year, but, within six months after the time allowed, 
an affidavit of the fact must be made and recorded with the 
register or recorder of deeds. 

There is no doubt that all locations which do not conform to 
this law will be void, whether they are in accordance with local 
regulations or not. For these latter the locator should consult 
the mining recorder and other people of the district. 

Settlers wishing to obtain non-mineral land for agricultural 
purposes should study the following 

ABSTRACTS OF THE UNITED STATES HOMESTEADS AND 
PRE-EMPTION LAWS. 

Pre-emption. — Every head of a family, or widow, or single 
man or woman, over twenty-one years of age, being a citizen, or 
having filed a declaration of intention to become a citizen, can 
pre-empt 160 acres of any American government lands, with the 
exception of some limited special reservations. The first act 
necessary is settlement, or the commencement of some work or 
improvement upon the land, and the pre-emption right dates 
from the first improvement or occupation of the land. Upon 
surveyed land a pre-emptor must, within three months of settle- 
ment, go or send to the land office in that district, pay $2, make 
a "filing" or written declaration of intention to pre-empt, and 
within thirty months from filing the land must be paid for. If 
within ten miles of a land -grant railroad, the price is 12.50 per 
acre ; outside of that distance, $1.25 per acre. No one can pay 
for land under the pre-emption law until the claimant and 
family (if he has one) has actually resided upon the land for six 
months, and he must not be the owner of 320 acres of land 



SYNOPSIS OF LAWS. 175 

within the United States (exclusive of pre-emption claim). No 
person can make a settlement or improvements on land for 
another, which will hold for pre-emption. No one can hire 
another to live upon the land for six months in such a way to 
answer the requirements of the law that the pre-emptor shall 
have resided on the tract. One land warrant or Agricultural 
College scrip in same manner can be laid on a quarter section 
(160 acres) in pre-empting; but, if the land is 82.50 per acre, 
the extra 81.25 per acre must be paid in cash. Soldiers have no 
rights in pre-emption beyond any other person. Heirs may com- 
plete the pre-emption in their own names. 

Citizens' Homesteads. — Any person qualified as for pre-emption 
can acquire by occupation', and the payment of commission and 
fees (818 to 826), 160 acres of land held at $1.25 per acre, or 80 
acres of land within ten miles of railroad, and held at 82.50 per 
acre. Every homestead settler, except soldiers, must in person 
go to the land office to make the filing, unless he is actually living 
on the land, and then it is allowable to make the filing before the 
clerk of the county within which the land is situated. The right 
to land under homestead law dates back from filing (not from 
settlement as under pre-emption), and the claimant is allowed six 
months, within which time he must take possession of the land 
by occupation and improvement. Not sooner than five, nor later 
than seven years after entry, the settler must go to the land office 
and prove by two witnesses that he has resided upon and culti- 
vated the land for five years immediately succeeding the time of 
filing, and thereupon he or she is entitled to a patent. Absence 
from a homestead for more than six months at any one time 
during the five years works a forfeiture of all right to the land, 
if proven to the satisfaction of the United States Register. 
Neither pre-emption nor homestead claims are liable for debts or 
taxes incurred previous to completion of title. 

In case of death before title is perfected, either by pre-emption 
or homesteading, the right of the deceased descends to the widow 
or heirs, or, in case of infant children only, it may be sold for 
their benefit, even though the five years be not expired. 

Each and every homestead settler, at any time after the end 
of the third year of his or her residence, who, in addition to the 
settlement and improvements required by the homestead laws, 
shall have had under cultivation for two years one acre of timber 



176 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

(the trees thereon being not more than twelve feet apart each 
way, and in a good thrifty condition) for each and every sixteen 
acres of said homestead, shall, upon due proof of such fact by two 
credible witnesses, receive his or her patent for said homestead. 

One may take a homestead and a timber claim, or a pre-emp- 
tion and a timber claim at the same time ; but a homestead and 
a pre-emption claim cannot run together, because both require 
actual residence. 

A soldier's actual or enlisted service in the army will be counted 
as equal to a like period of residence on the land. 

The fact that a person has had the benefit of the Pre-emption 
Act does not in any case interfere with his right to homestead. 
The fact that a person has had the benefit of the Homestead Act 
does not prevent him from pre-empting, but no one can leave his 
or her own land in the same State # or Territory to take the benefit 
of the Pre-emption Act. No person can pre-empt more than once. 
No person can homestead more than once. No person can make 
a second entry to a homestead unless the first was illegal. 

Commuting a Homestead. — Homestead settlers may pay for 
their land in cash or warrants at the government price [$1.25], 
upon making proof of actual residence and cultivation for a 
period of not less than six months from the date of entry to the 
time of payment, but this does not interfere with the right to 
pre-empt. 

Desert Lands. — Under an act of Congress, approved March 
3, 1877, any person of lawful age who is a citizen of the United 
States, or who has declared his intention to become a citizen, 
may file his oath with the register and the receiver of the land 
office in the district in which any desert land is located, that he 
intends to reclaim not to exceed six hundred and forty acres of 
said land, in a compact form, by conducting water upon it within 
three years of the date of said oath, and by describing accurately 
the boundaries of said land, if surveyed, and if not surveyed, as 
near as possible without a survey; and paying to the receiver the 
sum of twenty-five cents per acre for all the land claimed. 

Any time within three years after the filing of said oath a 
patent can be obtained by making proof to the register and 
receiver that he has reclaimed said land, and paying to the 
receiver the sum of one dollar per acre. But no person shall 
enter more than one tract of land. 



synopsis or laws. 177 

By desert lands is meant all lands, not timber or mineral, 
which will not produce some agricultural crop without irrigation, 
which fact shall be established by proof of two or more credible 
witnesses under oath. Said oaths to be made before some per- 
son competent to take oaths, and filed in the land office of the 
district in which the laud is situated. 

This act only applies to desert lands in Wyoming, Utah, 
Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Cali- 
fornia, New Mexico and Dakota. 

Legal Weights and Measures in Wyoming. — The law of Wy- 
oming prescribes the following as the standard weights : 

Lbs. 

Wheat 60 

Rye , 56 

Corn 56 

Corn in ear 70 

Barley 48 

Oats 32 

Potatoes 60 

Beans 60 

Clover seeds 60 

Timothy seed 46 

Hemp seed 44 

Buckwheat . 52 

Blue-grass seed 14 

Corn meal 50 

Onions 57 

Salt 80 

Lime 80 

Mineral coal 80 

A perch of stone in mason work shall be considered sixteen 
and one-half (16^-) cubic feet, and for brick-work measure, when 
laid up in wall, shall be counted twenty-two brick per cubic foot 
for foot wall, and fifteen brick for what is known as eight-inch 
wall ; a common brick to be 8£ inches long, 4J inches wide and 
2-J- inches thick. All grain and nearly all vegetables sold by the 
pound. 



PAET THIRD. 

The Big Horn, Black Hills and Yellow- 
stone Regions. 

MINERALS, SOIL, GRASSES, SCENERY, CLIMATE, ETC. 



THE BIG HORN REGION. 



CHAPTER I. 



LOCATION AND PROMINENT NATURAL FEATURES. 

IT has been quite natural for the average reader, when referring 
to the Big Horn Eegion, to cover with his imagination all of 
that vast country lying between the Yellowstone on the north 
and the Sweetwater on the south, and between the Black Hills 
on the east and the degree of longitude defining the line of Wyo- 
ming and Idaho on the west. While it should be remembered 
that within these generous bounds are three or four distinct and 
naturally separate mountain ranges, almost as large as the Big 
Horn, and with their own well defined system of drainage, yet 
there is no reason why one of the grandest of western rivers and 
this great central backbone should not give the region adjacent 
a distinguishing title. In these pages the Big Horn Eegion will 
be treated of as one covering the broad country above outlined, 
while its spurs or tributary regions, which are attracting less at- 
tention at present, will be briefly outlined as we progress. 

The Big Horn mountains lie almost wholly in northwestern 
Wyoming, between the thirtieth and thirty-second degrees of 
longitude west from Washington, and the forty-third and forty- 
fifth parallels of north latitude. The mountain region proper is 
therefore 125 miles in extent north and south and about the 
same east and west, and contains 15,000 square miles. Eising 
near the head of the main fork of Powder river the range trends 
off to the northwest 200 miles, and then, turning almost directly 
west, soon loses itself in the different ranges bordering the Yel- 
lowstone National Park. At the southeastern terminus the range 
singularly doubles back upon itself to the west, and is said to 



182 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

have thus taken the significant name, " Big Horn." By a few 
of the old-time mountaineers we learn that the big horn of the 
mountain sheep, there so plentiful, is the source of the title, 
while others claim that the entire range, from its horn or cornu- 
copia shape, has, from the earliest advent of the fur company 
employes, been thus distinguished. The average altitude of val- 
leys at the immediate base of the range is 4,500 feet above sea 
level, and the higher peaks are from nine to twelve thousand feet. 

A scene never to be forgotten is that which the visitor from 
the south, or the Cheyenne route, enjoys when this great water- 
shed is first seen from the Powder river divide. Nearly the whole 
of the resplendent range, stretching off along the northwestern 
horizon 150 miles is grasped by the eager vision. "A cloud-land 
mirage ! " we first exclaim, its lofty peaks appearing white, fleecy 
and ethereal enough to belong to cloud-land, and yet too sur- 
passingly grand to be spared by even a beautiful earth. In 
most harmonious contrast to the great banks of glittering snow- 
banks of burnished silver, they looked to us, are the long, pur- 
pie-tinged pedestals upon which they rest. These are the unu- 
sually rugged foot-hills, and they receive their rich coloring from 
dense forests of pine and spruce, which cover them from base to 
summit. From near the center rise Cloud and Hayes peaks, the 
proudest landmarks of all the northern country, while at frequent 
intervals on either side other snow-capped sentinels are clearly 
outlined against the sky. Even from this distant view the grand 
canons of the Tongue river tributaries are defined — sombre and 
threatening gashes, and sometimes almost cavernous in their 
rocky mould. 

It was the writer's good fortune to traverse this grand wilder- 
ness almost from end to end, and to several times cross the range 
in the vicinity of Cloud Peak. From the summit, at an altitude 
of some 12,000 feet, a view which can hardly be equaled in the 
mountain ranges of America was obtained. Eastward it swept 
from the Powder Eiver region to that of the Yellowstone, and a 
radius of 250 miles was but a comprehensive panorama for the 
naked eye. The Tongue, Powder, Eosebud and other rivers 
could be traced almost from the feet of the enraptured visitor, 
out northward among their lesser mountains and flanking plains, 
until lost in the picturesque brakes of the Yellowstone, 150 miles 
away. Westward for over 100 miles stretched the valley of the 



LOCATION AND PROMINENT NATURAL FEATURES. 18o 

Big Horn, the crystal sheen of that river itself often emerging 
from graceful groves of richest green. Still beyond in that 
direction were the Wind River mountains, with their thousand 
rugged canons and unbroken covering of snow. Yet beyond — 
over 200 miles distant — was the Shoshone range, bordering the 
National Park, its giant peaks rising up like spectres in the dim 
background saying "thus far and no farther shalt thy vision 
penetrate." Then the grand mass of granite upon which we 
stood, so long the fascinating terra incognita of the northwest, 
and today the richest field of promise in all our broad land, 
afforded a study never to be forgotten. Mountains upon mount- 
ains rolled up toward our common footstool like the exaggerated 
waves of an ocean — with "white caps" of snow for "white 
caps " of foam — these when analyzed becoming live forests of 
refreshing green or fire-licked forests of sombre brown and gray, 
sheltering hundreds of mountain torrents, leaping waterfalls, 
pine-embowered parks and rock-girt lakes. It was simply a sur- 
vey of America's best hunting-grounds, her deepest and grandest 
solitudes, and her land richest in native tradition, adventure and 
" extravagant possibilities". Much abler pens filled columns with 
glowing descriptions of those " dizzy altitudes, blackened cliffs 
and awful gorges," and yet the half has not been told. 

The formation is principally limestone, with granite and slate 
occasionally cropping out. There is also some conglomerate 
showing in the Big Horn canon, and sandstone on the south 
fork of Powder river. 

From foot-hill to summit the mountains north of Cloud peak 
are covered with a dense growth of pine ; south of this bare 
ridges and peaks predominate. There are several high points, 
the most prominent being Hayes and Cloud peaks, whose bald 
heads rise one thousand feet above their fellows. On the south 
side of these mountains and on the main divide are a number of 
pretty little lakes, the largest about two miles in circumference. 
These are clear as crystal, often very deep, and some of them 
fringed with perfect masses of water lilies. 

The creeks, owing to their rapid descent, have nearly all cut 
deep canons in the solid limestone, making it almost impossible 
to travel lengthwise in the mountains when not near the summit. 
But they compensate the traveler for their roughness by their 
beautiful and grand scenery. Waterfalls and cascades, rocks 



184 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

worn into fantastic shapes, and the ever-luxuriant foliage, where 
it can obtain foothold, complete a picture never tiring to the eye. 
During the recent jaunt of Generals Sheridan and Crook in 
the Big Horn region, a determined effort was made by members 
of the party to further explore the dizzy heights. Their success 
is gossiped of as follows by the Chicago Tribune : " The party 
left the Union Pacific railroad at Bryan, and proceeded north in 
stages to Camp Brown, in the Wind River valley, Wyoming Ter- 
ritory, thence to a camp at the base of the Big Horn mountains. 
At this point a scientific party composed of Lieutenants Bourke, 
Schuyler and Carpenter was made up to ascend this heretofore 
unexplored mountain. That is to say, no one has ever reached 
the actual summit of Cloud Peak. After reaching an elevation 
of about 13,000 feet they were unable, to proceed farther, owing 
to the inaccessible rocks encountered. They, however, reached 
a higher point than any former party. Several like attempts 
have been made during the occupancy of the Big Horn country 
by United States troops in 1867-8, but none have been success- 
ful. Amongst other interesting occurrences of this exploration 
was the discovery and naming of H#yes Peak, a point jutting 
out from Cloud Peak, and the highest mountain of this range. 
A large collection of the fauna was made, including some very 
interesting discoveries of new species. These have been properly 
preserved, and will be forwarded to the Smithsonian Institute. 
While on this subject it may be as well to say that General Welsh, 
of Chicago, who accompanied the expedition in the cause of sci- 
entific investigation, shot two of those rare animals known as 
the prock and camelco, — so some of those who were there say. 
Any persons interested in zoology should call on the general for 
a detailed description. Of course all kinds of game were killed, 
including black-tailed deer, mountain sheep, mountain bison, 
and two bears. Of the latter, General Sheridan killed one and 
General Crook the other. The generals were in luck. The bison 
is a species much smaller than the buffalo, as fleet almost as a 
deer, and as sure-footed as a big-horn sheep." 



CHAPTER II. 



INDIAN TRADITION — EARLY GOLD-HUNTING— TESTIMONY 
OF ARMY OFFICERS AND NOTED SCOUTS. 

EVER since the explorers of our own race have commenced 
their efforts to penetrate and hold the Big Horn region, it 
has been the scene of strife and the jealously guarded rendez- 
vous of different savage nations. The Crows and Shoshones, long 
the faithful allies of the whites, have for years disputed vainly 
with their powerful and deadly enemies, the Sioux, for its pos- 
session, and have sacrificed their best blood and treasured prop- 
erty in the never-ending war. These tribes and others call the 
Big Horn and Tongue River regions the most beautiful of 
America, the most favored for game and fish, and the natural 
home of the buffalo, elk and deer. The Crows say, beautifully, 
" The Great Spirit only looks at other countries in summer, but 
here he lives all the year." Another tribe have a tradition which 
tells them that this country is nearest the "happy hunting 
ground," and that the warrior who falls here is particularly 
favored, because he makes only one short step from the old 
scenes to the enchanting new. 

Some of these savages tell us that many years ago, when their 
people had no horses, and, in fact, when tribes known by other 
names freely roved the land, that strange people came from the 
south and east, commenced to found homes in the solitudes, and 
worked among the rocks in the mountains. The country was 
made to yield rich treasures of not only furs, but something 
which was found in the ground, and native jealousy only brooked 
the loss for a few years, when it destroyed all of the strangers in 
their new homes. A little further down the ages the savages 
found these glittering treasures themselves, but they cared less 
for them than for their bales of furs. Then, still later, when 
missionaries and trappers appeared upon the scene, and the 
rightful owners of the wilds were taught the value of gold, tres- 
passers were more closely watched than ever, the stronger tribes 
13 



186 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

announced their determination to hold this, their last and best 
hunting-ground, forever, no matter what the cost might be. 
Finally, with the establishment of fur-trading posts, came the 
oft-repeated proof of golden riches found somewhere in the 
region — proof furnished by the Indians themselves, who fre- 
quently showed pouches of gold and glittering ornaments of the 
same metal. 

At the time when hordes of frenzied California gold seekers 
were crossing the continent, not a few penetrated portions of the 
Big Horn region, and subsequently laid claims to rich discoveries 
there. Again, during and after the Montana and Pikes Peak 
stampedes — which have resulted in the development of two of 
the grandest metal-yielding centers in the world — numerous 
small and a few large parties of miners entered this region, and 
found enormous prospects, but supernumerary savages as well. 
The writer has frequently interviewed members of some of these 
parties, and has always been met with the same general statement 
that gold was discovered in quantity, but that it would require 
thousands of men to hold the country against the Sioux — the 
latter a truth which the experiences of 1876 only too thoroughly 
demonstrated. These pioneers have faithfully bided their time; 
have followed our different military expeditions through the 
region, in the hope of again viewing their treasure vaults, and at 
this date they are delving early and late in the shadowy gulches of 
the Big Horn to attain the same end ; and with the changes in the 
Indian policy inaugurated by President Grant early in 1876, and 
the advent of General Crook into this department, the present 
state of affairs promises a permanency never before thought of. 
Today hundreds of men are scattered from end to end of the 
region which one year ago was regarded as practically impenetra- 
ble by any force short of two or three regiments of well disci- 
plined troops. Camps, trading posts and mail routes are estab- 
lished, and the daily six-horse coach is a thing of the not very 
distant future. 

Gold in the Big Horn Mountains. — As to the existence of gold 
in the Big Horn mountains, the writer can only say that " colors" 
have been found in nearly all the streams between Powder river 
and the Yellowstone. Our personal knowledge in the matter is 
confined principally to tributaries of the Powder, and to a stream 
flowing westward from Cloud Peak. In these we know fair pros- 



INDIAN TRADITION — EARLY GOLD-HUNTING. 187 

pects were made from surface gravel. But in accepting the many 
testimonials in succeeding pages, which come from reliable 
sources, there is no room left for doubt; and it is now only a 
question of special locality, the general distribution of fine gold 
throughout the gulches clearly indicating that at some point in 
this great range the wonderful deposits referred to by Father De 
Smet will be found. Immense deposits of decomposed gold- 
bearing quartz are found at many points, from base to summit, 
of the higher mountains. The veins are clearly defined, and 
ledges of from five to twenty feet in width protrude from the 
vast walls of granite so plainly that they can be traced for miles. 
Among the early discoveries were several large masses of this 
rock, which were most beautifully seamed and specked with 
flakes of native gold. Within the past few weeks several small 
shipments of Big Horn gold have been made from Cheyenne and 
Laramie city, the specimens being very coarse (weighing from 
fifty cents to ten dollars each), and the gold of very fine quality. 
The latest arrivals at Cheyenne have most flattering news from 
the mountain tributaries of Tongue river. There are nearly 
3,000 prospectors scattered along the different streams, and con- 
siderable coarse gold has been found. Owing to the melting of 
very deep snows, however, water had up to July 15 been too plen- 
tiful, and bed-rock could not be reached in the best localities on 
account of the floods. It is unfortunate that no more satisfactory 
intelligence is available at this writing, but the work of another 
month will undoubtedly prove the claims of those whose testi- 
mony follows : 

In the month of July, 1859, Captain W. F. Keynolds, of the 
corps of topographical engineers, under orders from the War 
Department, penetrated from Fort Pierre, on the Missouri, to 
the Black Hills. He explored the northern and northeastern 
portion of them, and then wended his way to the Powder river, 
Yellowstone and Big Horn countries. In his report, on page 14, 
under head of "Mineral Products," he says: "Very decided evi- 
dences of the existence of gold were discovered by us in the 
valley of the Madison and in the Big Horn mountains, and we 
found some indications of its presence also in the Black Hills, 
between the forks of the Cheyenne. The very nature of the 
case, however, forbade that an extensive or thorough search for 
the precious metals should be made by an expedition such as I 



188 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

conducted through the country. The party was composed in the 
main of irresponsible adventurers, who recognized no moral 
obligation resting upon them. They were all furnished with 
arms and ammunition, while we were abundantly supplied with 
picks, and carried with us a partial stock of provisions. Thus 
the whole outfit differed in no essential respect from that which 
would be required if the object of the expedition had only been 
prospecting for gold. The powder would serve for blasting, and 
the picks and shovels were amply sufficient for the primitive 
mining of the gold pioneer, while the arms would be equally 
useful for defense and in purveying for the commissariat. It is 
thus evident that if gold had been discovered in any considerable 
quantity, the party would at once have disregarded all the 
authority and entreaties of the officers in charge and have been 
converted into a band of gold miners, leaving the former the 
disagreeable option of joining them in their abandonment of 
duty or of returning across the plains alone, through innumera- 
ble perils. It was for these reasons that the search for gold was 
at all times discouraged, yet still it was often difficult to restrain 
the disposition to ' prospect,' and there were moments when it 
was feared that some of the party would defy all restraint." 

As early as 1869 Lieutenant Maynadeer wrote of that coun- 
try, in his report of his explorations, the following: "The valley 
of the Yellowstone offers the greatest advantages of any part of 
the country explored. It is fertile enough to yield generously to 
the farmer, and the capacity of the hills for grazing is unlimited. 
It is the paradise of the Indian, and in every direction it is 
marked by the track of vast hordes of buffalo, antelope and elk, 
which subsisted upon it. This will apply to the Yellowstone 
from the mouth of the Big Horn river to the mountains. Nearly 
all the country inside the curve of the Big Horn mountains is 
also of this description. There is every reason to believe that the 
mineral wealth of the mountainous portion is very great. I pur- 
posely discouraged any desire among those under my command 
to search for gold, but in several instances small quantities of the 
sands of some of the streams were washed and found to yield 
gold. Moreover, the geological features of these mountains are 
precisely similar to those of California and the neighborhood of 
Pike's Peak (Colorado), which abound in gold. But it is hardly 
probable that the gold could be obtained profitably, except by 



INDIAN TRADITION — EARLY GOLD-HUNTING. 189 

large outlays of capital and concerted operations of organized 
companies." 

Mr. Thomas Sun, late government guide and scout, from long 
continued travel, has a very general knowledge of the Big Horn 
country and its approaches, and all information given by him is 
vouched for as implicitly reliable. Mr. Sun makes Kawlins, Wy- 
oming, his home when not in the mountains, and can be referred 
to for any further particulars. In giving the writer a short 
sketch of his adventurous career in the mountains of the north- 
west, he said : 

" I am a native of the Province of Quebec, and left my home 
when only eleven years old to come to the States. Three years 
afterward I joined some hunters and trappers on the Missouri 
river who had spent many years in the employ of the Northwest- 
ern American Fur Company. With them I lived several years, 
and have during that time an<J ever since trapped, hunted and 
prospected in the northwest, as well as acted in the capacity of 
guide to government expeditions and private hunting parties. 
During the past eight years I have hunted and prospected prin- 
cipally in the Big Horn mountains and Sweetwater country, and 
have traveled manv hundreds of miles all over them, and I think 
for the miner, the farmer and the stock-raiser this country is, 
without doubt, the finest and best to be found anywhere. Gold, 
no doubt, from discoveries already made, exists in great abun- 
dance in the Big Horn mountains, and the valleys have the best 
ranch lands in the west. 

" Sweetwater valley alone is about 75 to 80 miles long and from 
35 to 40 miles wide, with an altitude of about 6,000 feet above 
the level of the sea. It is surrounded by mountains covered with 
fine large* timber, and watered by a number of rivers and creeks 
along which are splendid hay lands. Very large bunch grass 
grows on the plains, affording stock plenty of good feed summer 
and winter. I am quite sure that no finer stock country is to be 
found in the world. Upward of 2,000 cattle are now on these 
plains, belonging to Montana stock-men, who have told me they 
intend driving a very large number in there this summer." 

In speaking of gold in the Big Horn country, Mr. Sun said : 
" When I was on the Missouri river some twenty-three years ago, 
I saw the late Father De Smet at Yankton, in Dakota, and heard 
him giving an account of some portions of his life amongst the 



190 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

Indians. ' He told my partners and myself that he had no doubt 
but that the Big Horn country was the richest gold field in the 
whole world, and he prophesied that when the Indian troubles 
were over his words would come true. He had seen several of 
the whites, who lived and hunted with the Indian tribes, panning 
dirt which showed gold in large quantities, and he had himself 
made many very rich discoveries, but could do nothing in the 
way of developing them, as the Indians would not permit white 
men to mine in the country. He had also seen large nuggets in 
the hands of the Indians on very many occasions." 

Mr. Sun added: "My partners and myself have discovered 
good paying diggings and some rich quartz leads, and I know of 
several parties who have made some rich strikes at different 
points in the Big Horn mountains, but none of them could be 
worked, as it was too great a risk for small parties on account of 
the Indians. 

"In 1862 a party consisting of five French Canadians, I. Pat- 
neen, J. Dubois, and three others whose names I have now for- 
gotten, outfitted at the Sweetwater crossing of the old stage road 
(where the route from Rawlins to the Big Horn crosses this road), 
to go into the mountains and work some placer ground they 
had previously found, and which they said was very rich. It was 
during the rush to Idaho and Montana in that year. They 
endeavored all in their power to persuade some of the many par- 
ties traveling along this route, bound for those Territories, to 
join their party to the Big Horn to strengthen it, as they feared 
trouble with the Indians. But although they offered to show 
them very rich ground, they were unsuccessful, and had to go 
alone, and, as they were never heard of again, it is thought they 
must have been killed. Being quite certain that the representa- 
tions made by these men were honest and true, and the prospects, 
from what they said, most favorable, as they were willing to 
risk their lives in an Indian country to work their discovery, 
my partners and myself, while out hunting, made a trip to the 
place where they said they had found the gold, and there saw 
traces where white men had camped and had prepared to mine. 
I have no doubt it was the same party, no other miners having 
ventured into the mo nn tains at that time. 

" The following was told me by old man ' Dakota/ who, if 
living, is the oldest mountaineer in the northwest, and I have 



INDIAN" TRADITION — EARLY GOLD-HUNTING. 191 

heard the same statement from Bruere, Paul Packet and Lami- 
reaux, all old mountaineers, and also from many others: 'That 
before California was known as a mining country, an old free 
trapper named La Pondre, who always hunted and trapped alone, 
making long journeys into the Big Horn mountains — that being 
his favorite hunting ground — had in his possession several large 
nuggets sufficient to fill his bullet pouch, and which they all saw 
with him. But in those days the value of gold in its crude state 
was not known amongst the trappers, they having come into this 
country young boys, like myself. Old man La Pondre stayed 
round Fort Pierre, and exhibited his nuggets freely to his 
friends, amongst whom were the men I have named. He told 
them he was going to St. Louis, and if what he had in his hand 
was what he expected it was, namely, gold, he had done with 
trapping for furs, as he could find enough of the stuff to buy up 
the American Fur Company whenever he liked. He left St. 
Pierre to go to St. Louis, telling the men to be on hand and stay 
round, as he was coming back in the spring, and would take them 
with him to the place where the gold was. He said it was lying 
free in the bed of a creek, on bed rock, where there was any 
amount of it. 

" Travel to St. Louis in those days was slow. The trappers 
used to make boats of buffalo hides and fill them with their bales 
of furs, paddling down stream to St. Louis, and returning m 
barges hauled or cordelled by ropes from shore. When old man 
La Pondre arrived at St. Louis he showed what he called his 
yellow bullets and found they were gold nuggets of great value. 
The American Fur Company at once offered him great induce- 
ments to show them where he had found them and wanted to 
buy him out, but he refused to tell them or sell at any price, as 
he said the company did not always act on the square with the 
people in their employ, and he was going to have the first show 
for himself and his friends. 

"It was the custom for the trappers and hunters in those 
days to work for two or three years and then make a trip to St. 
Louis to draw their money and have a good time. Old man La 
Pondre, after finding that he had made such a wonderful discov- 
ery of gold, feeling rich on the strength of it, and knowing 
where he could make a good haul in the Big Horn if he got 
broke in St. Louis, took in too much bad whisky forced on him 



192 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

by some of the Fur Company's men, who wanted to get hold of 
his secret, and he died from this and cholera. Thus he died 
without disclosing anything about the place where the gold was 
to be found in the Big Horn, and was buried at St. Louis. 

"I have myself seen gold in the possession of Indians at Bo- 
ray's ranch and at several other places, which they traded at the 
posts for goods. But this is no reason for me to suppose that 
they took it from the ground themselves, and I should rather 
suspect that they had taken it from miners whom they had found 
in the mountains and killed." 

Asking Mr. Sun to give his opinion of the new country as a 
hunting-ground, he enthusiastically replied : " For game no place 
in the world can beat the Big Horn country; there are any 
amount of antelope, black and white tailed deer, Rocky-mountain 
sheep, elk and moose, buffalo and bison, cinnamon, black and 
grizzly bear, and Rocky-mountain lion, wild cats, silver-gray, 
black and red foxes, etc. Mountain grouse, sage hens, geese, 
ducks and chickens are found in great abundance. Swarms of 
trout and other fish in the streams." 

Interviewed by a reporter a month before his death, General 
Custer had the following to say about early gold-hunting in the 
Big Horn region, and the characteristics of the country : 

" The mining party from Bozeman that I spoke of, set out for 
that region. A few persons had contrived in the past, when the 
Indians were not troublesome, to enter a portion of it, and they 
returned with wonderful stories of the riches hidden there ; and 
fine specimens of gold were shown as proof. General Sheridan, 
in his letter to General Sherman, corroborates this view, and he 
thinks that the wealth of the Big Horn country will be found to 
surpass that of the Black Hills. Beyond report nothing positive 
is known about it. 

" In passing westward from the Black Hills we find a low, 
rolling landscape, the timber growing smaller and scarcer, until 
the plains are reached, so that the Black Hills are a cluster sepa- 
rate and distinct from the great range. We gradually approach 
the upheaval, which is the commencement of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. 

" No snowy peaks can be seen as you leave the Black Hills, 
but when nearing the Big Horn the Big Horn mountains appear, 
and as the march continues their white peaks come out in glit- 




*\.Q^V^a.-5>s. 



''one too many." 



INDIAN TRADITION — EARLY GOLD-HUNTING. 195 

tering splendor. As the mountains are precipitous, abrupt and 
of a peculiar formation, and as many stories are told of the 
wealth that is in them, western people are of the opinion that 
this is the locality to which gold seekers must go if they would 
make their fortunes. 

"Numerous rivers flow through the canons out to the plains, 
and they are very clear and full of trout. Wind river flows 
through the Big Horn mountains, through a canon which is 
between fifty and one hundred miles long, and it has never been 
explored. Bridger, the famous Indian scout, claimed to have 
passed through it, but there is no definite record of its ever hav- 
ing been explored." 

Old Jim Bridger, the mountaineer, who has spent forty-five 
years in the Eocky Mountains, tells the following story of his 
discovery of gold in the Big Horn region : 

"In the spring of the year 1859 I was employed by Captain 
Eeynolds, United States Engineers, as a guide and interpreter to 
an exploring expedition of the government, commanded by the 
above-named officer, whose purpose was to explore the head- 
waters of the Yellowstone and Big Horn rivers, and various other 
streams in the Big Horn country. The party consisted of Cap- 
tain Reynolds, Lieutenant Lee, and one company of United 
States soldiers commanded by Captain Menadier, Dr. Hayden 
and several other scientific gentlemen, a number of teamsters 
and other employes. 

" One day, after having traveled a few days in these regions 
known as the Big Horn, I, feeling thirsty, got off my mule and 
stooped down at a small brook containing clear and inviting 
water from the snow-capped mountains to drink, and while so 
doing my attention was attracted by the curious appearance of 
the bottom of the stream. It appeared to me like yellow pebbles 
of various sizes, from that of the head of a common pin to a 
bean and larger. Though well acquainted with the appearance 
of gold, I was somewhat in doubt of its being the precious metal, 
since it had never occurred to me that gold could be found in 
that locality; but my curiosity being excited, I scooped up a 
handful of the stuff, and rode up to Dr. Hayden and Captain 
Reynolds. Both at once pronounced it pure gold, and asked me 
where I had procured it. After I had told them where I had 
found it, Captain Reynolds got very much excited, and insisted 



196 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

that I should cast it away, and not tell anyone of the party of 
the matter under any circumstances, he fearing that a knowledge 
of gold in such abundance and of such easy access would certain- 
ly break up his expedition, since every man would desert to hunt 
for gold. I very reluctantly complied with the officer's request. 
Since my first discovery of gold I have found the same metal in 
that country while trading with the Indians, though not in such 
abundance as the first." 

James Bridger is now an old man, but still hale, hearty and 
active. Nearly his whole life has been spent in the Rocky 
Mountains and among the Indians. Bridger Pass and Cut-off, 
on the old emigrant road to California, were named after him 
many years ago. Mr. Bridger now makes his home in Jackson 
county, Missouri, near New Santa Fe. 

General P. E. Connor, who led an expedition through this 
region ten years ago, says in a letter to the writer concerning it : 
" I did not have time to examine its mineral resources, but from 
information derived from some of my officers and men I am of 
the opinion that silver and gold will be found in paying quanti- 
ties on the headwaters of Powder, Tongue and Big Horn rivers 
and their tributaries." 

Frank Grouard, the widely -known chief scout of General 
Crook's principal expeditions, has frequently told the writer of 
his knowledge of placer gold in this range, and of his finding it 
in fine large nuggets. In a letter recently received from him he 
uses these words: "In the northern portion of the Big Horn 
mountains there is plenty of gold that I know of myself." Mr. 
Grouard was for six years a prisoner of Sitting Bull, and in his 
rambles with the hostiles had ample opportunity to make these 
discoveries. 

Dozens of other reliable authorities could be quoted, but these 
must suffice, as we wish to take a glimpse at the other resources 
of this interesting region. 



CHAPTER III. 



CHOICE NOOKS FOR THE FARMER AND STOCKMAN — 
VALLEYS AND STREAMS. 

THE future importance of the Big Horn region rests much 
less upon the development of rich mines than the average 
reader can now realize. There is a wealth of farm and grazing 
lands which alone will soon attract thousands of eager husband- 
men and supply the whole northwest with bread and beef. One 
of the pleasing peculiarities of the country, and one to be consid- 
ered here, is the water supply. For nearly two hundred miles 
along the northeastern base of the Big Horn mountains the 
clearest and most beautiful of streams sweep violently down 
through their picturesque gorges and course northward 150 miles 
to the common reservoir — the great Yellowstone. These often 
occur at intervals of less than five miles, and it is seldom that 
more than a dozen miles of the unequaled uplands separate 
them, or that crystal springs do not send pretty laterals bounding 
over gravel beds to the more pretentious creeks or rivers. These 
mountain streams and sheltered valleys are more numerous 
throughout this region than are water-courses in any of the half 
dozen Eocky Mountain Territories which the writer has had the 
pleasure of thoroughly viewing. And here he is willing to stake 
his reputation upon the assertion that none of the Territories 
can boast a region of similar extent so favored in all the natural 
elements of fertility, beauty and practical value to producers as 
is found here along the eastern and northeastern base of the Big 
Horn mountains. 

The soil of the valleys is usually a porous loam, rich, black, 
bottomless — so far as the needs of the farmer are concerned. 
Every element of fertility seems to be present and every species 
of vegetation attests its wonderful nourishment by a most luxuri- 
ant growth. Of course rain, out in the lower valleys, "other 
than the dripping skirts of some mountain shower," are as rare 
as the average western farmer could wish. But with these num- 



198 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

berless dashing streams, bearing with their beauty the impalpable 
fertilizers of crumbling mountains, irrigation would be a pleasure 
rather than a task. Vegetable life does not differ very materially 
from that in Rocky Mountain regions, four hundred miles fur- 
ther south, except that here the same varieties nearly always 
have a much stronger growth. Wild rye is found in large 
patches, so tall that a cavalryman could nearly, if not entirely, 
hide himself in it while mounted. Wild oats, native blue-grass 
and all the varieties of plains grasses present this same strong 
testimony of fertility of soil and congenial climate by their heavy 
carpetings and unusual height. The average altitudes of the 
valleys being less than 4,000 feet, the region of summer frosts is 
not reached. Experiments made in the cultivation of the soil at 
Fort Smith, on the Big Horn, and Fort Kearney, on the Piney, 
during their occupation ten years ago, proved that all vegetables 
and cereals commonly grown in temperate climates were thor- 
oughly adapted here. While following the fortunes of General 
Crook, during the summer of 1876, the writer was furnished a 
striking example of the possibilities within range in this line 
even much farther north. When the lamented Custer marched 
across the Yellowstone region from Fort Lincoln, Dakota, early 
in the spring, the surface was thoroughly soaked by the more 
generous rains of that northern country, and his wagon trains 
cut deep gashes into the black soil. Grains of corn often leaked 
from the sacks composing these loads and fell into the ruts. 
When with Crook's gallant division on the terrific march of 
August following, we crossed Custer's trail, the corn was found 
growing far above the tops of the highest grasses — some of it as 
high as our heads — and was evidently in a fair way to mature. 

It is the purpose of the writer to prove beyond the shadow of 
a doubt all claims made in this volume, and where opinions of 
reliable parties concerning important points are to be obtained, 
they are inserted. General Luther P. Bradley, of the United 
States army, spent several years in this region during its occupa- 
tion by the military, and in response to inquiries made several 
years ago, put himself on record as follows : 

"I respond very cheerfully to your request for information 
about the climate, soil, grasses, etc., of the country on the east 
slope of the mountains, from the Big Horn down to the Repub- 
lican and Smoky Hill, which I prospected or scouted pretty tho- 



CHOICE KOOKS FOR THE FARMER AND STOCKMAN. 199 

roughly in 1867 and 1868. From the Smoky Hill, in about 
latitude 39 north to latitude 44, the country is very much like 
that immediately around the Union Pacific railroad, with which 
you and the traveling public are familiar. The character of all 
this country is rolling prairie, very well watered, and abounding 
in good grasses to such an extent that the assertion may be safely 
made that the supply of grazing is unlimited. 

"All of the streams in this range furnish some timber, and 
many of the tributaries of the Eepublican, Powder, Tongue, Big 
Horn and other rivers are covered with heavy forests of hard and 
soft wood. All of the bottom lands on the streams flowing from 
the mountains are what would be called east, good, reliable farm- 
ing lands, fit to produce any of the regular crops, except, perhaps, 
corn. The only danger to the corn crop would be, I suppose, the 
shortness of the season, and the frequency of frosts consequent 
on the extreme altitude of this section. 

" North of latitude 44 the country changes materially for the 
better. It is better watered, having an abundance of pure, clear 
mountain streams. The soil is richer, the grasses are heavier 
and stronger, and the climate very much milder than that for 
several degrees south. I think the valleys of Tongue river, Little 
Horn, Big Horn and the Yellowstone, will produce corn, and 
good corn, too. About the other crops, barley, wheat, potatoes, 
etc., there is no question. This, I take it, shows about the max- 
imum of soil and climate, for there is no question about the value 
of a country that embraces hundreds of millions of acres, that 
will produce good crops of cereals and grasses. 

" The valley of the Big Horn, five to twenty miles in width, 
by about one hundred miles in length, I regard as one of the 
choice spots of the earth. Here the climate, soil, scenery and 
natural productions combine to make a country I have not seen 
excelled anywhere from Georgia to Montana, and equaled only 
by the favorite countries along the Ohio, the Cumberland or 
the Tennessee. The prevailing winds are westerly, bringing 
the mild airs of the Pacific to these inland slopes, and tempering 
the winters of latitude 45° and 46° to about the temperature of 
the mountain country of Kentucky and Tennessee. 

" The value of this country for grazing may be estimated from 
the fact that good fine grasses grow evenly all over the country, 
that the air is so fine that the grasses cure on the ground without 



200 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

losing any of their nutriment, and that the climate is so mild 
and genial that stock can range and feed all the winter and keep 
in excellent condition without artificial shelter or fodder. The 
fact of grasses curing on the ground is a well-known peculiarity 
of all the high country on the east slope of the mountains, and 
in this is found the great value of this immense range for grazing 
purposes. 

" The difference between grasses which have to be cut and 
cured and those which are preserved on the ground, is enough 
to convince the stock-raiser and herder of the value of these im- 
mense ranges known as 'The Plains/ I believe that all the 
flocks and herds in the world could find ample pasturage on 
these unoccupied plains and the mountain slopes beyond, and 
the time is not far distant when the largest herds and flocks in 
the world will be found right here where the grass grows and 
ripens untouched from one year's end to the other. I believe 
there is no place in this section of the country, from latitude 47° 
down, where cattle and sheep will not winter safely with no feed 
but what they can pick up, and with only the rudest shelter. In 
the mountains, or in the valleys of the mountain streams, they 
would find ample shelter from storms in the frequent canons 
and ravines. 

" The mountain ranges are peculiarly adapted to sheep rais- 
ing. The range is unlimited, the grasses are fine, and the air is 
pure and dry — conditions which insure healthier stock and bet- 
ter wool than the climate and soil of the low country. 

" I have said that the climate about Big Horn was very mild ; 
as an indication of this I will state that the average temperature 
in the valley, latitude 45° 30', was in December, 1867, 32° above ; 
in January, 1868, 20° above; in February, 40° above, and in 
March 55° above. In August, 1867, the mercury was as high as 
107° above. Coal, iron and fine building stone are plentiful in 
the mountains of the Big Horn ranges. Fine clay and limestone 
are found in abundance, and the mountains furnish good pine 
timber in fair quantity. Nature has provided most liberally for 
the wants of civilization in this favored region, and when it is 
opened up to settlement it will attract a large population, and 
will prove to be a great producing country." 

General Eaynolds, who had occasion to winter in this region 
several years ago, uses this language in his official report : 



CHOICE NOOKS FOR THE FARMER AND STOCKMAN. 201 

" Through the whole of the season's march the subsistence 
of our animals had been obtained by grazing after we had reached 
camp in the afternoon, and for an hour or two between the dawn 
of day and our time of starting. The consequence was that when 
we reached our winter quarters there were but few animals in the 
train that were in a condition to have continued the march with- 
out a generous diet. Poorer or more broken down creatures it 
would be difficult to find. They were at once driven up the val- 
ley of Deer creek and herded during the day, and brought to 
camp and kept in a corral through the night. In the spring all 
were in as fine condition for commencing another season's work 
as could be desired. A greater change, in their appearance could 
not have been produced, even if they had been grain-fed and 
stable-housed all winter. Only one was lost, the furious storm 
of December coming on before it had gained sufficient strength 
to endure it. This fact, that seventy exhausted animals, turned 
out to winter on the plains the first of November, came out in 
the spring in the best condition, and with the loss of but one of 
the number, is the most forcible commentary I can make upon 
the quality of the grass and the character of the winter." 

The small rain-fall along the Big Horn mountains is confined 
to the spring and early summer months. There is no dew, and 
sickness is so rare that, for many days in succession, out of 
large garrisons of soldiers who were stationed here ten years ago, 
not one could be found at the hospital. The summer tempera- 
ture rarely exceeds ninety, the nights always being deliciously 
cool and refreshing. While the mercury sometimes ranges very 
low in winter, the cold is far more endurable than in the low 
eastern sections. The writer has campaigned along these moun- 
tains, and far to the north, in midwinter, without tenting and 
with but scanty bedding, when mercury solidified, and out of five 
hundred men composing the expeditions not one suffered perma- 
nently from frost-bite. Being the chosen winter home of the 
buffalo and other game, and the choice herding ground for many 
years of thousands of Indian ponies, this whole region has long 
since gained the appellation, on the frontier, of the " stockman's 
future paradise." 

The valleys and uplands are totally unlike those of Colorado, 
or even eastern Wyoming. In those sections it is often difficult 
to tell where valley ends and upland begins, because the two are 
14 



202 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

so naturally merged by broad stretches of gently-sloping plain. 
In the Big Horn region the line of demarcation is as plain as 
the wall of China. The uplands are usually several hundred feet 
higher than the valleys, and when the visitor descends into the 
latter he reaches stretches of unmistakable lowlands — but never 
a slough or marsh, — stretches that may be exquisitely narrowed 
to almost canon width or swelled into graceful parks of from two 
to ten miles wide, and with always the dark valley soil and grate- 
ful valley foliage and vegetation. Natural hay lands are really 
not plentiful, considering the extent of all the valleys, because 
such an item as overflow of valleys or a permanent swamp is 
never known. But where stock will not need an ounce of arti- 
ficially prepared food, as here, there will be little use for extensive 
hay lands, and enough of the very best quality of hay can be cut 
for all possible needs. The fall of all the streams is so great that 
every farmer can have his own system of irrigation, if he desires 
it, and there is no danger of future quibbles about water-rights 
in this most bountifully-watered of all regions. 

Many of the valleys contain enough Cottonwood, ash, box- 
elder and other timber to supply logs for fuel or building pur- 
poses for years to come. But the great mountains overlooking 
on the one side, and many of the bluffs on the other, are covered 
with forests of pine, hemlock, spruce, cedar, etc., furnishing 
building material for all time. We opine that about every other 
settler will own a coal mine, as the "black diamonds" crop out 
almost everywhere, and are known to furnish an excellent quality 
of fuel in numerous localities where tests have been made. 

Commencing at the south and naming the more prominent 
streams in their order northward, we have Powder river, Crazy 
Woman's Fork of Powder, Clear Fork of Powder, Big and Little 
Piney, Penoe creek, South and North Forks of Goose creek, 
Tongue river, Kosebud, Little Big Horn, Grass Lodge creek, 
Rotten Grass creek, Big Horn river, the latter's numerous tribu- 
taries flowing from the northwest, and the Yellowstone. These, 
in other portions of the west, where moisture is not so abundant, 
would all be called rivers. Indeed, with their great fall, their 
wonderfully-swift flow, and their often respectable breadth of 
channel, they deserve such appellation even here. Then it must 
be remembered that dozens of large creeks and brooks, drawing 
their supply from the never-failing snows in the mountains, and 



CHOICE NOOKS FOR THE FARMER AND STOCKMAN. 203 

from some of the most extensive and beautiful limestone springs 
on the continent, are not mentioned — they are nameless as they 
are almost numberless, but in their rambles to the sea play none 
the less important parts. 

In briefly describing some of these prominent streams and 
valleys we may be frank in commencing by declaring that we 
have nothing good to say of Powder river, the southern boundary 
of the Big Horn region. Its waters are darkly mysterious and 
villainously alkalied; its southern tributaries ditto; and it is far 
from a fitting gateway to the land of beauty and plenty just out- 
lined. However, the valley soils are among the richest in all the 
northern region, and the flanking bluffs furnish very fair grazing 
lands. The stream rises in the Powder Eiver range, flows almost 
due north to the Yellowstone, and in its tortuous windings has a 
length of over 300 miles. The valley is from one to three miles 
wide, is well timbered with cottonwood, and shows the coal for- 
mation almost everywhere. Cantonment Eeno, garrisoned by 
United States troops, is located on Powder river near the cross- 
ing of the Cheyenne and Big Horn road. It is a general outfit- 
ting point for Big Horn miners. The most direct and well- 
traveled road from Deadwood to the Big Horn region strikes the 
Cheyenne road near here. 

Twenty-six miles north is Crazy Woman's Fork of the Pow- 
der. Its waters are clear, flowing over a gravelly bed, and it 
drains a more desirable region than the parent stream. But not 
until Clear Fork of Powder, twenty miles north of the last named 
stream, is reached does the visitor feel thoroughly possessed 
of that enthusiasm we are endeavoring to inspire. The land- 
scape surrounding is perfect in its loveliness, and the broad valley 
is very nearly our ideal of a spot for the creation of most inviting 
homes. The valley is four or five miles wide and seventy miles 
long, and besides being quite well timbered at the point of cross- 
ing possesses greater stretches of hay lands than most others in 
this section. A ranch and trading post, called Murphy's ranch, 
the first to be located in the Big Horn region, is found here at 
the crossing. 

Twenty miles travel farther north over grazing lands which 
are not equaled south of the Platte anywhere, brings the visitor 
to the forks of the Piney — the road crossing them just above 
their union. The ruins of old Fort Phil Kearney, near the road, 



204 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

stimulate disagreeable thoughts about the played out peace policy, 
and lead us to think what a shame it was for a powerful govern- 
ment to lose its grip upon such beautiful domain, and to allow 
the massacre of its subjects by the hundred. These valleys are 
about as extensive as that of Clear Fork, are just as beautiful and 
fertile, and undoubtedly will soon teem with the best life our 
Yankee enterprise can bequeath. A few miles away lies Lake 
De Smet, named after the noted missionary. It is about two 
miles long and nearly a mile wide, and for its shores has a circle 
of gracefully rounded hills. Myriads of geese, ducks and other 
water fowl, with evidently little appreciation of danger, float its 
surface, and in the shallow water of the beaches we noticed in- 
numerable small insects, resembling fish animalculse. But the 
water is so wonderfully brackish and charged with alkaline salts 
that it is doubtful whether fish could exist in it. 

In reaching the different forks of G-oose creek, tributaries of 
Tongue river, about twenty miles farther north, we are in the 
heart of the choicest portion of the Big Horn region. Where 
the two principal forks of Goose creek unite the valley is nearly 
ten miles wide, and right here is the garden of the whole north- 
west. Unequaled ranch sites for either farming or grazing pur- 
poses lie up and down the valley for a distance of twenty-five 
miles. This spot has long been the loved rendezvous for our 
different savage tribes on fete days or during their grand revel- 
ries of hunting and feasting. The streams here furnish fine trout 
fishing. Hayes and Cloud Peaks overlook the scene and the old 
Sioux Pass across the Big Horn mountains is close at hand. 

A dozen miles or more northward is Tongue river and its 
many feeders. Tongue river rises in the snow fields of Cloud 
Peak, and flows out northward two hundred miles to the Yel- 
lowstone. The river is extremely crooked and the valley is not 
often more than two miles wide, its tributaries furnishing more 
arable land than itself. Shortly after leaving the Big Horn 
range it is flanked by the Big Panther mountains on the south 
and by the Wolf and Little Panther mountains on the north. 
Although these ranges are extremely rough and often well tim- 
bered they hardly deserve to be called mountains, as they are 
generally only from five hundred to one thousand feet in height. 
The writer does not believe that indications warrant any of the 
statements recently made that these ranges are mineral-bearing. 



CHOICE NOOKS FOR THE FARMER AND STOCKMAN. 



205 



Where gold has been found in them, it is our belief that it must 
have been the wash of deposits far up in the Big Horn range. 

Down along Tongue, and other rivers here in the heart of 
"Indian Ground," are many evidences of savage eccentricity. 
Many of the cottonwood trees have attained great size, and 




GOOSE CREEK RAPIDS, BIG HORN REGION. 



numbers which have died are still standing, their bark having 
all dropped off, leaving a smooth and sometimes almost perfectly 
white surface. These have often been ornamented by savage 
artists, the beds of ochre in the vicinity furnishing a pretty fair 
article of paint for the purpose. One would bear the picture of 
an Indian horse-race, with the brutes neck and neck, bending 



206 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

down to their work. On another would be the scene of a san- 
guinary engagement in which white men, pierced with arrows or 
bullets, were tumbling from their horses. But some of these 
trees were desecrated by pictures of a still more atrocious and 
revolting nature by the hands of these vandal artists, and in 
future years, when happy homes take the places of the present 
reigning solitude, residents can better judge from some of these 
how worthy are our savage wards of the consideration they are 
receiving. 

Northward still are numerous valleys running out at right 
angles from the mountains, and in passing on to the Montana 
settlements, a distance of about 300 miles, one is rarely out of 
sight of them. The Big Horn, however, is our limit to the 
region we have been describing, and is distant from Tongue river, 
by the Cheyenne and Montana route, about seventy-five miles. 
The Eosebud, which lies between the Tongue and Big Horn, and 
which empties into the Yellowstone, drains a grazing region 
which, as a packer who had served all over the trans-Missouri 
country said, " beats the world." From the lowest depth of the 
valley to the summits of the highest hills the different varieties 
of native grasses grow as though cultivated, and are not only 
very thick upon the ground, but attain greater height than else- 
where. The valley is wide and picturesque, covered with splendid 
meadow and possessing numerous large groves of cottonwood. 
The soil is deep and practically bottomless, as those of us who 
had our horses mired in it in the creek-bed can testify. 

The Big Horn and its tributaries probably water more arable 
valley lands than any of these streams, the valley of the Big 
Horn alone being from three to ten miles wide and over a hun- 
dred miles long below its grand canon. Large areas of hay lands 
here make up for their scarcity elsewhere in the region. The 
Big Horn furnishes choice trouting and is navigable during 
early summer months by light-draught steamers to a point some 
seventy-five miles above its junction with the Yellowstone. 

The belt of land drained by these streams, and to which 
reference is made here, lies wholly east or northeast of the Big 
Horn mountains, and that portion of it particularly desirable to 
the settler lies within twenty-five miles of their base. West of 
the range the region is not generally so fine — although a number 
of good valleys are there found — until the valley of the upper 



CHOICE NOOKS FOR THE FARMER AND STOCKMAN. 207 

Wind river and its numerous tributaries are reached. These 
possess the same general characteristics and attractions as the 
ones on the east side and are already being quite extensively 
settled. 

Bounding this region on the north is the navigable Yellow- 
stone, of which General J. W. Forsythe, of Sheridan's staff, has 
reported as follows, after one of his visits : 

" The Yellowstone river, from the highest point reached by 
us to the mouth of Powder river, sweeps through the country in 
long and majestic stretches, with a current of at least four miles 
an hour. Its bosom is studded with islands by hundreds, some 
of which are three or more miles in length and covered with Cot- 
tonwood groves; and many of them: are so handsome that they 
almost make the voyager believe that they are the well-kept 
grounds pertaining to some English country house. I never saw 
so fine a growth of Cottonwood in my life as on the Yellowstone, 
twenty-five miles above Tongue river. These trees will run from 
three to five feet, and some are six feet in diameter. The supply 
of Cottonwood and pine which exists throughout the upper Yel- 
lowstone country is ample to meet all the requirements of any 
settlement of the valley ; and the indications are that large beds 
of coal can be found and worked in the neighborhood of Powder 
river. 

" The mouth of the Big Horn may be regarded as the head of 
navigation on the Yellowstone river, and for three months of 
the year this river presents less obstacles to its navigation than 
the upper Missouri, and, indeed, many other rivers in this and 
other countries. The channel is unchanging, for it passes over 
a gravel bed from its head to its mouth, and there are no snags. 
When this is contrasted with the shifting and unreliable water 
of the upper Missouri, it ought to make the rates of insurance 
less on the Yellowstone river than on the upper Missouri. 

" We found the greatest abundance of game along our entire 
route — antelope, bear, black -tail deer, elk, mountain sheep; also 
herds of buffalo, between Tongue river and the Big Horn, as we 
went up ; but before we returned they had all crossed the river 
and gone north. 

" We steamed up the Big Horn river for a distance of twelve 
miles, found it quite crooked, with a narrow valley, and were 
obliged to return on account of the water becoming distributed 



208 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

over so wide a space that the main channel did not afford a suffi- 
cient depth of water for us to continue our course. The current 
of the Big Horn was about as strong as that of the Yellowstone : 
water muddy, and at the mouth it was about 150 yards wide. 
Where it joins the Yellowstone the points of land on each side 
are small prairies with good grass. On the east bank the bluffs 
run close to the river and are sparsely timbered. On the west 
bank the valley is mostly filled with cotton wood, and the hills 
are about 150 feet high, with plateaus on the top. Near the 
point where we turned back there was a small stretch of prairie 
about a mile wide and a mile and a half long. The north bank 
of the Yellowstone, opposite the mouth of the river, is a sand- 
stone bluff, 150 feet high, with rolling plateau on top covered 
with sage and some bunch grass. 

" Where Pryor's river empties into the Yellowstone, sixty-two 
miles above the Big Horn, is a small stream, twenty-five feet 
wide, winding through the western part of the prairie, which 
extends from Pompey's Pillar to it. Very little lumber on it. 
It is reported to have a fine country near its head-waters. 

"After passing above the mouth of the Big Horn the growth 
of pines is much larger. At a distance of from twenty to thirty 
miles back from the river, on the south side, a park country 
exists, as is evidenced by the abundance of game coming from 
that direction. Miners have found color in prospecting for gold 
in the different streams in the mountains of this locality. As 
the tributaries of the Yellowstone have a gravelly bottom of igne- 
ous and metamorphic rocks, porphyry, granite and quartz, there 
is no reason that there should not be gold found, even in consid- 
erable quantities, in this formation. The Yellowstone river has 
its source in the Yellowstone lake, and takes a course a little west 
of north until it unites with Shields river. At this point it takes 
a general direction a little north of east to the mouth of Powder 
river, and thence a due eastern course to the Missouri. In low 
water the stream is navigable with ease as far up as Pompey's 
Pillar. The fish of the Yellowstone consist of catfish near its 
mouth, shiner, catfish and jack salmon between Powder river 
and the Big Horn west of Powder river. Buffalo, elk, antelope, 
mountain sheep and beaver are found in great numbers. The 
Yellowstone valley above the mouth of the Powder river can all, 
or nearly all, be cultivated, as the soil is rich. The islands, many 



CHOICE NOOKS FOE THE FARMER AND STOCKMAN. 211 

of which are very large, could be cultivated. There is abundance 
of coal and pine wood that could be taken out with profit. The 
water is fine. . . . And in the valleys there grow large quantities 
of wild plums, cherries, crab-apples, grapes, gooseberries, buffalo 
berries, currants and wild strawberries." 

That portion of the Yellowstone valley with which the writer 
is more particularly conversant lies between the mouths of the 
Powder and Eosebud, and is one hundred miles long. In this 
portion we have seen a vast extent of fertile valley and superbly 
grassed upland. The bottoms often widen to an extent of three 
or four miles, and occasionally reach a width of ten miles. These 
are generally ornamented by large groves of cottonwood. The 
high lands adjacent rise up in picturesque terraces, terminating 
in broad and wonderfully level plateaus, and covered with a 
splendid growth of bunch and grama grasses. Eiver, valley and 
surroundings often blend into the most exquisite landscapes. A 
stream broad and majestic as the Upper Mississippi ; banks gently 
sloping, or occasionally rising vertically a hundred feet above the 
water's edge ; graceful groves, almost forests, shading and beauti- 
fying every bend; and distant mountains with their deep, rich tint 
of purple, unite to create a picture as pleasing as could be wished. 

Why, with cheap river transportation, even these far northern 
limits of our possessions should not soon be sending cargoes of 
beef, mutton, wool and grain to lower river marts, it is not easy 
to see. Then, with our Wyoming and Montana railroad soon to 
pass along the eastern base of the Big Horn mountains, this 
proud northwestern empire cannot want for outlets or the most 
desirable means of communication. Tri-weekly mail service is 
now furnished by the government from Bozeman and Fort Ellis, 
Montana, to the mouth of Tongue river, a distance of 350 miles. 
This is for the accommodation of the military permanently sta- 
tioned on the Yellowstone, as well as for the benefit of small 
settlements already clustering near. 



CHAPTER TV. 



FRUITS, FLOWERS, GAME, FISH, ROUTES, ETC. 

OF wild fruit there is a great variety in all these northern 
valleys. Kaspberries, strawberries, red currants, plums, 
cherries and rock grapes are among the number. The settler 
will certainly not have cause to complain in this respect, and if 
the growth, so prolific in its native state, gives reliable foretaste of 
what can be done by cultivation, the production of improved 
varieties must some day be an important item. During one of 
our visits some of the valleys were perfect orchards of wild fruits 
and beds of native flowers. Observing particularly along the 
Piney, near the site of old Fort Kearney, we found the valley a 
perfect mass of plum and cherry blossoms, which, with the 
flowers, fairly charged the air with a delicious fragrance. 

Most Of the varieties of flowers are those common all along 
the Eocky Mountains, although a few very lovely varieties seemed 
entirely new. The rose, blue-ball, butter-cup, daisy, phlox, 
violet, lily, and dozens of others familiar everywhere as house- 
hold words, are waiting here to surprise old admirers who may 
think they are to lose them when they seek such far-off wilds. 
Nature could not be more extravagant with the gift of flora than 
that everywhere found inside the Big Horn mountains. In every 
park, by the side of every stream and lake, and under the shade 
of either thrifty or ruined groves, we found the same dense masses 
of scarlet, purple, white, blue and yellow, with all the intermedi- 
ate shades imaginable. The visitor here in the higher altitude 
can enjoy the strange sight of blooming strawberries within a few 
yards of snow-banks, or pluck flowers with one hand and have 
the other immersed in an all-the-year drift. 

As has already been intimated, this is the paradise for hunters, 
white or red. It was choice ground for the hundreds of Fur 
Company employes half a century ago, and many were the bat- 
teaux, or Mackinaw boats, which floated down the great rivers 



FRUITS, FLOWERS, GAME, FISH, ROUTES, ETC. 



213 



from these wilds, freighted with the richest offerings of field, 
forest and stream. A pretty good joke — and one with solid 
foundation in fact — is told at the expense of one of the promi- 
nent officers who led a large expedition through this region 
about ten years ago. The column was near the forks of the 
Piney, and scouts came back with the report that a large body of 
Indians was moving up the valley, with evident intent to attack. 
The general hastened forward, took in the terrors of the situa- 
tion with his field glass, and soon had his forces posted in first- 
rate style for defense. The attacking column advanced in very 
close order, and kicked up so much dust that little could be seen 
of it. But it surged on resistlessly. Men were holding their 
breath in the tremor of suspense, and just as they expected the 
order to fire a sharp breeze wafted away the dust, disclosing a 
herd of a thousand elk — ten thousand, our informant says, but 
we should prefer not to spoil a good story. 

Elk, buffalo, mountain sheep, black and white tailed deer, 
antelope, grizzly and other varieties of bear, with all kinds of 

small game, find 
in this region their 
deepest solitudes 
and their own 
most coveted sur- 
roundings. Many 
of the streams are 
yet full of beaver 
and other fur- 
bearing animals, 
and the region is 
literally alive with 
several species of 
the wolf. From estimates furnished by Indian traders, we are of 
the belief that the value of all kinds of furs taken in this region 
annually by savages, before the commencement of the Sioux war, 
and traded at the agencies, would not fall short of $200,000. The 
presence of the prairie chicken here is a fact worthy of note. It 
is the first recorded instance of its having attained such an 
extreme western range, although its gradual extension westward 
in the path of cultivated fields has been known for some time. 
The Yellowstone, Big Horn and Tongue rivers, and their thou- 




214 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

sand tributaries, are plentifully supplied with trout, mountain 
pike, shiners, catfish, suckers and other varieties. In the rivers 
and larger creeks the beautiful speckled trout attain a weight 
of from three to six pounds, while in the brooks a half-pound 
trout is a very fair average. We have caught these smaller and 
far more delicate trout, in large quantities, in simple rivulets 
where there was scarcely room for even such delicate bodies to 
navigate. 

Before passing to the subject of routes, it may be well for us 
to have a few words on the Indian question. We do not assert 
that the last American Indian has surrendered his claims to this 
his loved home, nor do we believe that hostilities are forever at 
an end. A few small bands of renegades, who do their work 
under cover of night or from ambush, are yet prowling over the 
country, and probably will be until they are hunted down. But 
we have no fears of an extended outbreak so long as the present 
military management is continued. With officers like General 
Cook at the helm; and granted all the latitude they need, the 
question of the early redemption of any frontier is settled. Three 
thousand determined miners have already crossed Powder river 
on their way to the Big Horn, while a large battalion of cavalry 
is kept constantly at work along the base of that range, in en- 
deavors to ferret out the remnants of savage tribes left. Then 
more than a full regiment of cavalry is stationed permanently 
along the Yellowstone, to punish depredators from the British 
possessions. With all this force and a determination upon the 
part of our people to occupy this region — and the back of the 
Sioux nation broken — it will be passing strange if the few 
straggling savages which are left can hold out till the leaves of 
autumn fall. 

Routes. — The Cheyenne route from the southeast is the only 
one which yet furnishes a complete list of camping places and 
which has been measured by odometer. It is also the only one 
yet traversed by the writer, and therefore the only one of which 
he can speak understandingly. It is the old overland Montana 
route, possesses a splendid road-bed and easy grades from begin- 
ning to end, and lies over the country soon to be traversed by 
the Cheyenne and Montana railway. Following the regular Black 
Hills road to Huntbn's ranch, on the Chugwater, the emigrant 
then branches off to the northwest upon the old and constantly 



FRUITS, FLOWERS, GAME, FISH, ROUTES, ETC. 215 

traveled government highway to Fort Fetterman. Such clear, 
strong streams as the Laramie river, Horseshoe, Big Cottonwood, 
Elkhorn and La Bonte creeks are crossed en route, affording fine 
camping places with plenty of wood and pure mountain water. 
The only unfordable stream, the Laramie river, is spanned by a 
fine public bridge. At Fort Fetterman an excellent ferry facili- 
tates the crossing of the Platte at seasons of high water. From 
thence northwest a distance of ninety miles, over choice grazing 
lands, the traveler will find as fine a road as crosses any portion 
of our prairies. This stage of the journey completed, Canton- 
ment Eeno, on Powder river, is reached. Forty miles distant 
the grand Big Horn range rises in plain view, and the journey 
thither is finished easily in a day's ride. At the Powder river 
crossing a good stock of provisions is always on hand, and that 
point will be found a most convenient outpost. A weekly mail 
now goes to that point via Cheyenne. 

There has been such a wide difference made in distances from 
different points to the rather indefinite " base of the Big Horn 
mountains," that we compile all tables to read to the "base of 
Cloud Peak." Following is an accurate table of distances over 
the Cheyenne route : 

Miles. 

Cheyenne to Lodge Pole Creek 16 

Lodge Pole Creek to Bear Springs 20 

Bear Springs to Chugwater 14 

Chugwater to Hunton's Ranch 15 

Hunton's Ranch to South Laramie River 22 

Laramie River to Cottonwood Ranch 20 

Cottonwood Ranch to Elkhorn 25 

Elkhorn to Wagon Hound 15 

Wagon Hound to Fort Fetterman 16 

Fort Fetterman to Sage Creek * , 14 

Sage Creek to South Fork Cheyenne River 18 

South Fork Cheyenne to Antelope Springs f 21 

Antelope Springs to Dry Fork of Powder River 23 

Dry Fork Powder to Cantonment Reno 14 

Cantonment Reno to Crazy Woman's Fork 27 

Crazy Woman's Fork to Clear Fork 20 

Clear Fork to base of Cloud Peak 25 

Total 325 

* No wood. + Water poor and scarce. 



216 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

Eawlins furnishes the shortest routes, but, of course, is yet 
behind in the way of improving them. There are two roads, as 
follows : 

FIRST — VIA WHISKY GAP. 

Miles. 

From Rawlins to the Paint Mines 3 

Paint Mines to Bell Springs 9 

Bell Springs to Sand Springs 26 

Sand Springs to Whisky Gap 15 

Whisky Gap to Sweetwater River 8 

Sweetwater River to Sunk Creek and junction with Seminole route . 8 

Sunk Creek to Rattlesnake Range 8 

Across Range to Poison Springs Creek 8 

Poison Springs Creek to Cloud Peak 125 

Total 210 

SECOND — VIA SEMINOLE MINES. 

Miles. 

From Rawlins to the Paint Mines 3 

" Paint Mines to Brown's Canon 9 

" Brown's Canon to Seminole 23 

" Seminole to Sand Creek 10 

" Sunk Creek to Sweetwater River (bridged over) 15 

" Sweetwater River to Sunk Creek and junction with Whisky Gap 

Route 8 

" Sunk Creek to Rattlesnake Range 8 

" Across Range to Poison Springs Creek 8 

" Poison Springs Creek to Cloud Peak 125 

Total 209 

The roads on these two routes to the Sweetwater river are 
well defined, easy of travel for teams, and a good down grade all 
the way from Eawlins. They come together at Sunk creek, 
sixty-eight miles from Eawlins and eight miles north of the 
Sweetwater river. Good camping ground can be found at each 
point where the mileage is given above. The Seminole route has 
been traveled over more than the Whisky Gap route, it being the 
road generally used to the Seminole and Ferris mines and min- 
ing districts, and also to the Sand Creek settlements; both roads 
are, however, equally good for ordinary travel. The Sweetwater 
river is bridged over, but it can be forded nearly all the year. 

The Green Eiver route, from Green Eiver City, possesses the 
advantage of having a daily stage, mail and express, 160 miles of 
the distance, and of passing through a tolerably well-settled 



FRUITS, FLOWERS, GAME, FISH, ROUTES, ETC. 217 

region and a number of mining towns on the way to Camp 
Brown. Following are the camps : 

Miles. 

Green River Station 9 

Alkali Station 12 

McCoy's Ranch 27 

Dry Sandy 22 

Pacific Springs 13 

South Pass City 12 

Atlantic City 4 

Strawberry Diggings 2 

Camp Stambaugh 5 

Miners' Delight 2 

Red Canon 9 

Eagle Ranch 9 

Lander City 9 

North Fork 3 

Camp Brown 11 

Cloud Peak 149 

Total 298 

Fare by the Sweetwater daily stage line is $27 to Camp 
Brown ; forty pounds of baggage allowed. Express freight, six 
cents per pound. The Sweetwater line is in excellent trim to 
stock the entire route to Cloud Peak whenever the demand 
arises for through coaches, as it now possesses first-class equip- 
ment and runs one hundred miles nearer than any other. Run- 
ning time to Camp Brown, thirty-six hours. Green River is 
well supplied with good outfitting houses. 

Evanston, at the extreme western end of "Wyoming, offers a 
good route to all parties from the west, as indicated by the fol- 
lowing : 

Miles. 

Evanston to Lander's Cut-off 20 

Lander's Cut-off to Ham's Fork 25 

Ham's Fork to Robinson's Crossing on Green River 18 

Robinson's Crossing to Big Sandy 28 

Big Sandy to Little Sandy 9 

Little Sandy to Dry Sandy 14 

Dry Sandy to Pacific Springs 10 

Pacific Springs to South Pass 12 

South Pass to Camp Stambaugh 6 

Camp Stambaugh to McG-raw's Crossing on Beaver Creek 25 

McGraw's Crossing to Cloud Peak 160 

Total 327 

15 



218 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

The Evanston Age asserts that " the road from Camp Stam- 
baugh to Sioux Pass passes through a beautiful and fertile val- 
ley where there are plenty of springs for water. In fact, the 
whole route from Evanston to the Big Horn is an old traveled 
road; plenty of grass, wood and water is found the entire dis- 
tance, and passes through a country where the Indians never 
trouble anyone. After leaving Camp Stambaugh the prospector 
will find color in every pan of dirt he takes up, and when he ar- 
rives at Sioux Pass he is only about fifty miles from old Fort 
Eeno, and in the midst of the gold fields." 

The distance from Deadwood to Cloud Peak via the Pumpkin 
Butte trail is, as nearly as we can at present ascertain, 200 miles. 
JSTo route east of the Black Hills and via that region is practi- 
cable for the Big Horn travel, for the reason that all of them 
pass over an unsettled and unprotected wilderness from 500 to 
700 miles wide. From Virginia City, Montana, to Cloud Peak, 
the distance is 365 miles, as follows : 

Miles. 

Virginia City to Bozeman 70 

Bozeman to Yellowstone Ferry 51 

Yellowstone Ferry to Clark's Fork 90 

Clark's Fork to Big Horn River 63 

Big Horn river to Cloud Peak 91 

Total 365 

The road is an excellent one the entire distance, and numer- 
ous good camping places are found between the points above laid 
down. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE BLACK HILLS. 

THE Black Hills of "Wyoming and Dakota, a section of tim- 
ber-covered hills, whose dark-blue appearance from a dis- 
tance gives them their name, are situated between parallels 43^ 
and 45 north latitude, and the 103d and 105th degrees of longi- 
tude west from Greenwich. They are nearly encircled by the 
north and south forks of the Cheyenne river, have an extent of 
about one hundred miles north and south and sixty east and 
west. The boundary line between Wyoming and Dakota runs 
through them a little west of the center. 

This section, lying like a green oasis in the midst of a vast, 
open, level plain, has a climate peculiar to itself and totally at 
variance with that of the country immediately surrounding it 
While the surrounding plains but a few miles distant are parched 
with drouth, this section is abundantly supplied with moisture at 
all seasons. Clear, running streams traverse it in all directions, 
affording an ample supply of water for mill, mining and domestic 
purposes and every use which the wants of man require. 

The principal streams are the Belle Fourche, with its tribu- 
taries, Spearfish, Whitewood, Rapid, Bare Butte and smaller 
streams on the north and east, and South Cheyenne, with Elk, 
Box Elder, Spring, French, Castle and Beaver creeks flowing in 
it on the south and west, with all the small streams feeding them, 
furnishing a water supply that is unequaled, except, perhaps, in 
the Big Horn country. Springs of clear, cold water are also 
abundant. 

The elevation is comparatively low, the valleys at the base of 
the hills being only about 3,000 feet above sea level, and the high- 
est peak only 7,000 feet. The gulches or valleys through which 
the streams flow are at an elevation of from 3,000 to 4,500 feet, 
with a fall of from twenty-four to forty-eight inches perpendicu- 
lar to one hundred feet horizontal distance. 



220 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

Early History. — As there has been a great diversity of opin- 
ion regarding the first discovery of gold in the Black Hills, it 
may not be amiss to give some facts and reports, obtained by 
diligent research and persistent inquiry, as to whom belongs 
the honor of having been first to discover gold and mine for it 
in this region. It is very evident that long before the present 
excitement gold was found and taken from the streams of the 
Black Hills. It is well known to many miners and prospectors 
that there are indications of white men having visited the 
Hills at some former period, but to whom these traces are due 
they have been unable to determine. We intend to place such 
new facts before our readers as we have been able to obtain, 
believing they will be of general interest. 

Mr. H. 1ST. Maguire, of Deadwood, who has been giving consid- 
erable attention to this matter, makes the statement, which he 
believes reliable, that, in the summer of 1852, a party of 300 men 
left Council Bluffs, Iowa, to cross the plains and mountains in 
search of the wealth said to lie in the streams of California. 
They were led by Captain Douglas, of St. Joseph valley, Michi- 
gan. After a long, weary march, they reached Fort Laramie, 
where they rested several days, and while there a company of 
thirty men left the main party to prospect in the mountains 
north from that point, and agreed that, if they discovered gold, 
they would overtake the main party at the Humboldt river and 
report. Eight of them did overtake the party, as agreed, and 
reported that they found gold upon two streams (which from the 
description were undoubtedly Eapid and Spring creeks), but 
that, owing to the amount of water and depth of the earth, they 
were unable to reach bed rock. They then moved on to the 
northern portion of the Hills, where they discovered gold in pay- 
ing quantities, and sent the party of eight to overtake the main 
body and induce them to return. This party reached the Hum- 
boldt late in the season (November), and the Indians being 
troublesome it was deemed unsafe to return, and all went on to 
California. 

The twenty-two who remained in the Hills were never heard 
from, and, without doubt, perished. 

Then we have the statement of Jeremiah Proteau, an employe 
of the American Fur Company, who was stationed at Fort Lara- 
mie from 1848 to 1854, giving an account of his experience in 



THE BLACK HILLS. 



221 



northern Wyoming and the Black Hills. The truth of his ac- 
count is beyond question, as it has been corroborated by contem- 
porary reports. He says : " I left the fur company at Fort Lara- 
mie in 1854 and engaged with Sir George Gore as hunter and 
teamster. James Bridger was employed as guide. We left Fort 




PROTEAU S GOLD MINE. 



Laramie early in the fall for the Yellowstone country, taking a 
route which led us past the Black Hills on the southern and 
eastern base, and reached the mouth of the Yellowstone late in 
November. We then marched up the Yellowstone to Tongue 
river, where we built a fort and remained for the winter, hunting 
and trapping. 

"The following April we started with ten carts and forty 



222 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

men, crossed the head of the Rosebud and went to the Big Horn 
river, where we bnilt flat-boats and floated down the Big Horn 
to the Yellowstone, and down that river to its month, where we 
met Sir George, who had made the trip by land. From there we 
came down the Missouri, and ascended that stream to its head, 
and then struck across on to the Belle Fourche and down to Bare 
Butte, and spent some time on the Swift or Rapid creek and Box 
Elder in the Black Hills. 

" One Sunday I went out to the falls of Swift or Rapid creek 
with Lamourie. The falls were quite high and emptied into a 
broad basin. As we were standing by the falls I noticed some 
yellow-looking stuff in the water, and I said to Lamourie — 

" ' By George, there's gold ! ' 

" I took off my shirt and scooped up three double handfuls of 
the yellow stuff, and put it in my shirt. Then Lamourie and I 
went back to camp. Sir George noticed me as we reached camp, 
and asked me what I had in my shirt. I said, ' Gold.' He then 
looked at it a little while, when he said, ' no, Jerry, that's not 
gold ; that's mica.' I was not very well posted about gold and 
thought Sir George was. He took it and put it in two black 
bottles, and placed them in his chest. The next day we marched 
out of the Black Hills, and two or three days after Bridger told 
me that Sir George told him it was gold. Sir George also told 
Lamourie that if he would prospect on the head of Swift creek 
he would find rich gold there. We left the Black Hills on ac- 
count of the Indians, and when we got back to the Little Mis- 
souri we were attacked by about five hundred Indians, who ran 
off all our horses." 

G. T. Lee, now a merchant, residing at Central City, in the 
Black Hills, says : " In 1863 I left my home in Missouri with 
twelve others, and started for Montana. We traveled to the 
north of the Fort Laramie road and came to the Black Hills, 
where we prospected for gold and found sufficient to induce us 
to remain. In one locality two of the party, with myself, sawed 
and hewed out some boards, and made three sluice boxes with 
which we took out in three days $180 in dust. At this time a 
fall of snow eighteen inches deep so alarmed us that we left for 
Montana, intending to return as early as possible in the spring. 

" We reached Montana in December, and succeeded so well that 
we did not return. In 1876 I returned to the Hills, intending to 



THE BLACK HILLS. 223 

locate where I had mined before, but have not as yet found the 
spot; but I intend to make further search this summer, and 
believe I will yet discover it." 

The traces left by some of these early gold hunters have ex- 
cited no little interest. In 1876 some miners prospecting on 
Battle creek discovered an old shaft about ten feet deep, and 
thinking it might be an easy place to reach bed-rock, they sank 
it about ten feet deeper, where, at the depth of twenty feet from 
the surface, they found an old shovel and a pick. The wooden 
handles were decayed and the iron badly rusted. 

On the same creek some parties unearthed a skull at a depth 
of three feet, and near by found a pair of silver-bowed spectacles, 
which looked as if they had lain there a long time. Near by are 
a number of prospect holes, in some of which are trees grow- 
ing, the largest about six inches in diameter; also an old oak tree 
over two feet in diameter, which was chopped down so long ago 
that the top is entirely decayed. Near Montana, on Whitewood 
creek, some miners unearthed an old hammer and a small poll- 
pick at a depth of fifteen feet, badly rusted. 

An old hatchet was found below Deadwood, or Whitewood 
creek, which shows evidence of having been buried for many 
years. Between Rapid City and Galena there is an old trail, 
along which are stumps which are so badly decayed that the 
slightest blow upturns them, showing the ax marks where they 
were chopped. The bodies of the trees have disappeared. 

An oak tree stands in a gulch near French creek which has a 
hole chopped in the side, plainly indicating the work of an ax. 
The annular rings of growth overlaying the ax marks show that 
it was cut over twenty years ago. 

With these facts before him the reader can readily see how 
fallacious is the popular belief that the Eldorado has been un- 
known and unappreciated until the present. The first mining 
— during the present excitement — was done on French creek, 
near the stockade, by Gordon's party, in the winter of 1874-5, 
though General Custer's party prospected during the summer of 
1874, and found gold in French and Spring creeks. 

The Mineral Wealth of the Black Hills — Consists of gold, 
both placer and quartz ; silver in quartz, carbonates, sulphates 
and argentiferous galena ores, and perhaps, in some locations, 
gray copper ; copper in small quantities, and iron in the form of 



224 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

hematite, and block iron. Mica has been found in plates large 
enough to be valuable. Large beds of gypsum are found in the 
red beds surrounding the Hills. Coal has also been found in 
large quantities. The mineral bearing belt proper extends about 
sixty miles north and south, and from five to ten miles in breadth, 
the richest deposits, as far as known, being in the vicinity of 
Deadwood and Galena, though some good ore has been found 
near Ouster. 

The quartz deposits are mostly in decomposed quartzite and 
slate, and though not generally extremely rich in gold, are so 
easily worked in stamp mills that nearly all the rock will pay for 
milling. The silver deposits have not been worked to any extent 
as yet. In the vicinity of Bare Butte some mines have been 
opened and very rich ore taken out, but as it requires smelting 
to obtain the silver, and there are no smelting works in opera- 
tion, the actual value of the mines is not yet thoroughly deter- 
mined. 

Gulch or placer mines are found on nearly all the streams in 
the Hills, but the principal work has been on Deadwood and 
Whitewood gulches, in the northern portion, and the smaller 
gulches running into them. About $1,500,000 in dust were 
taken out of there in 1876. The introduction of improved ma- 
chinery, however, will make it profitable to work many other 
gulches and "hill diggings." Not until the deep gravel deposits 
on Spring, French, Eapid and lower Whitewood creeks are tho- 
roughly developed, will inquirers realize the vast riches of the 
region. Potato and Nigger gulches have furnished the bulk of 
the coarse gold, several thousand dollars in nuggets having been 
brought to Deadwood, the smallest piece of which would weigh 
twenty-five cents, while some would weigh over $100. 

On Rapid creek, near Rapid City, Messrs. Bough ton, Mcln- 
tyre & Co. have a ditch and flume over three miles in length, 
giving them a head of water along the bars of from twenty-five 
feet to one hundred and fifty feet. They are working five bars 
and expect to run from six to twenty hydraulics and employ from 
one hundred to five hundred men. Their works have cost over 
$10,000. Other companies are putting in works on Spring and 
on Whitewood creeks. 

A great many reports have been in circulation regarding the 
amount of gold taken out of Deadwood ; some of them so extrav- 



THE BLACK HILLS. 225 

agant that we have taken pains to learn the truth in regard to 
them. It is found, from the best authority, that out of one and 
a half claims on Deadwood creek, Wheeler and his two partners 
took about $140,000, their expenses probably being $20,000, leav- 
ing about $40,000 for each partner; the claims were then sold for 
$3,000, and the parties now working them have taken out about 
$30,000, and are still taking out good pay. These claims are the 
richest that have been worked. Several others have yielded from 
$25,000 to $50,000 each. 

The quartz lodes which are now being worked extensively on 
the Hills in the neighborhood of Deadwood gulch and Lead City 
are destined to make that section the principal milling point. 
There are at least twenty good mills either finished at present or 
in course of erection. Pinney's mill, at Central City, was the 
first stamp mill in the Hills, started the 1st of January, 1877. It 
is working an excellent grade of ore from the Alpha and Omega 
mines. Pearson's mill commenced work May 1, 1877, and crushes 
fifteen tons per day to ten stamp. One run on ore from the Fair- 
view mine — about 150 tons — gave 359^ ounces, worth over $7,000. 
The Hidden Treasure mill was the first in the Hills to crush 
quartz ; it was started in the fall of 1876 with a pulverizer, but 
was changed to a twenty-stamp mill in May, 1877, and is taking 
out large quantities of gold. 

The mills at Lead City are also doing well. The cost of 
mining the ore worked at these mills is about one dollar and a 
half per ton, and it can be milled at an expense of four dollars. 
The bulk of the quartz runs from eight to forty dollars per ton. 

There are a large number of gold lodes which promise richly, 
among which are the Father de Smet, Fairview, Hidden Treas- 
ure, Deadwood, Aurora, Keats, Luella, Chief, Golden Star, Anchor, 
Giant and American Flag. Among the promising silver lodes in 
the vicinity of Galena are Eed Jacket, Florence, Treasure, Hart, 
Eed Cloud, Sitting Bull, II Refugio, Mammoth, Lone Star, Cari- 
bou, Monte Christe and Popoagie. Two smelters are in course of 
erection and the value of these mines will soon be determined. 

Among prominent sales of mining property thus far effected 
are the following : The Golden Terry was sold for $50,000 ; the 
Florence for $51,000; one-half of the Keats sold for $50,000; 
Home Stake, $50,000; and the Dustan for $20,000. A number 
of others have been sold at nearly as good figures. 



226 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

The milling of the gold ores in the Black Hills is a simple 
and not very expensive process. The quartz being "fed" into 
large iron boxes with small streams of water running through 
them, where the constant dropping of heavy iron stamps reduces 
the rock to powder, which is carried by the water through fine 
screens and dropped upon copper plates coated with quicksilver, 
which catches the particles of gold and holds them while the 
rock and other metals are carried away by the water. When the 
quicksilver has become loaded with gold, it becomes solid enough 
to scrape from the plates, and is then placed in a piece of buck- 
skin, where, by a strong pressure of the hands, the quicksilver is 
forced through the pores of the buckskin and the gold is left 
behind in a solid lump held together by a small quantity of 
quicksilver which still remains. This is removed by heating in 
a close retort until the quicksilver becomes vaporized and passes 
through the tube of the retort into water, where it condenses 
and is saved ; the gold being left in the retort is now ready for 
market. 

The process of saving the gold in gulch-mining is to throw 
the sand and gravel into long boxes or sluices, through which a 
constant stream of water is flowing, which washes away every- 
thing but the gold and black sand, these being caught by cleats 
nailed across the bottom of the sluice. Where the gold is fine, 
quicksilver is placed in the sluices, and catches the gold as in 
the quartz mills. 

The amount of gold taken out in the Hills from April, 1877, 
to July, 1877, is estimated at $1,500,000, and that a little larger 
yield will be furnished by the gulches by the time work closes in 
the fall, which, with that taken from the quartz by mills, will 
make an aggregate of $4,000,000 for the summer's work. This 
reaches market about as follows : 

Dust and retorts consigned to Cheyenne banks $2,000,000 

" shipped to Denver and the east by individuals .. . 1,000,000 
" carried out of the Hills by northern routes 1,000.000 

Total $4,000,000 

To extract silver from the ore is a much more expensive pro- 
cess, requiring furnaces to melt the rock and separate the metal, 
which must then be separated from the baser metals by another 
process. The smelting and refining works being very expensive, 



THE BLACK HILLS. 227 

and the cost of running them much greater than in milling free 
gold ores, requires the silver ores to be much richer than gold 
ores to make them profitable. 

It is estimated that not more than one-third of the present 
population of the Hills are furnished employment in mining or 
kindred industries, and that at least 10,000 people are out of 
work. There are various reasons for this. The country was 
pretty well overrun by experienced prospectors months before 
the great stampede which has resulted in such a large population 
of non-producers, and as the "poor man's mines" are com- 
paratively limited in number they have been rapidly claimed. 
Many people went to the Hills with a determination to engage 
in mining and nothing else. Disappointed in their first plans, 
they have often either given up in despair, a burden upon the 
settlements, or else have gone home to curse the country. Of 
the thousands who have flocked to the Hills a very large propor- 
tion reached their destination without a dollar or the prospect of 
getting a meal, and, of course, such had no way of engaging in 
stock raising, farming or lumbering, even on the smallest scale. 
But no stampede is without its lesson and advantage to almost 
every participant, or without its ultimate grand benefit to new 
sections of country. In the present case the gold hunting furore 
has led to the peopling of a rich region, which otherwise would 
have remained a howling wilderness for half a century. It is also 
resulting in the settlement of the vast Big Horn and Yellowstone 
regions, which, without the all-powerful incentive of gold, would 
for ages have failed of redemption from savage sway. However 
much individual participants may suffer in the start, their neces- 
sities will drive them to exertions never dreamed of before, and 
when, as members of our grand army of producers, they go hand 
in hand with prosperity, they will thank the influence which 
held them to a new land and forced them to a new life. 

Mechanics and miners who do find employment get from 
three to five, and in exceptional cases as much as six, dollars per 
day. Board and lodging at the cheapest houses is from six to 
eight dollars per week ; at good hotels from ten to fifteen dollars. 
In the mode of living so commonly called "batching it," where 
four or five men club together, buy their own provisions and do 
their own cooking, one can subsist at a cost of anywhere from 
three to six dollars per week. 



228 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

The writer does not desire to encourage a further migration 
of mining prospectors to the region known as the Black Hills 
proper. It will be noticed from the foregoing data that the 
country already contains a preponderance of this worthy class. 
But while turning the adventurous seeker of precious metals to 
the hundreds of square miles of unprospected territory in the 
Big Horn and Wind River ranges, attention is especially called 
to those fields here offering rich reward for development. The 
judicious investment of capital in the immense deposits of min- 
eral already discovered and the faithful labor of the stock-grower 
and farmer are invited on every hand, with almost absolute 
surety of excellent returns. In no region of similar extent in 
the new west are mineral deposits more abundant and valuable, 
valleys more numerous and fertile, and pasture lands more ex- 
tensive and luxuriant, than in the Black Hills. 

Agriculture. — The fertile soil and abundant rain-fall of the 
Hills and the luxuriant growth of vegetation is evidence that 
agriculture can easily become one of the leading industries of 
this region. Nowhere can wild grasses of even tender varieties 
be found in greater abundance — a sure indication that cereals 
will succeed. The rain-fall, averaging five days per week during 
the growing season, insures against drouth, and the absence of 
noxious weeds makes husbandry a pleasure. In the high parks 
potatoes, cabbages, peas, turnips and other hardy vegetables will 
yield abundant crops, while in the lower valleys the grains will 
do better. Squashes, cucumbers and melons can be raised among 
the foot-hills, and the hardier varieties of corn will succeed. 

Mr. Ed. Wolfe, at Crook City, commenced farming in the 
spring of 1876, and raised corn, potatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, 
parsnips and carrots, all of which yielded largely. The present 
season he has planted ten acres in general crops, which are look- 
ing well and promise an abundant harvest. There are about one 
hundred acres of crops planted in the vicinity. Near Ouster 
City crops of all kinds are looking well. Near Deadwood are a 
number of gardens, which furnish a supply of the finest vege- 
tables. M. Gr. Tonn has about forty acres in the more impor- 
tant farm products, which are looking well. At Spearfish, in 
the extreme northern part of the Hills, there are several fields of 
grain of all kinds and small patches of garden vegetables, all 
flourishing finely. These successes, so general in all parts of the 



THE BLACK HILLS. 229 

region, and at all altitudes, dispel every shade of doubt concern- 
ing the adaptability of soils and climate to agriculture. 

A luxuriant growth of grass spreads over the whole region, 
even upon the steep hill -sides. The valleys of French, Spring 
and Rapid creeks are especially adapted to grazing, and between 
Cold Spring ranche and Jenny's stockade many hundred tons of 
hay can be cut the present season. The varieties of grass are 
almost endless ; wild oats, wild rye, crowsfoot, chess and grama 
grass cover the valleys and hill-sides, while along the lower" 
streams blue stem and rushes make excellent food for stock. 
Many thousand head of cattle and sheep can subsist in the Hills, 
the timber patches furnishing shelter from winds and storms, 
and the numerous streams and springs insuring them against 
thirst. For fine stock the parks and valleys cannot be excelled, 
sufficient hay can be cut in almost any locality to supply their 
wants during storms, and that of the very best quality. The 
cool, equable atmosphere and ice-cold water render this section 
unrivaled for dairying, and the mining population insure a good 
market for all dairy products. 

With all these advantages it can be but a few years till the 
agricultural and stock-raising interests will far exceed the im- 
portance of the mines. The mining excitement is but a step- 
ping-stone here, as it has been in California and elsewhere. It 
compels settlement, while agriculture and stock-raising are the 
industries which bring about thorough development. 

Forests. — There have been extravagant statements in regard 
to the extensive forests of heavy timber in the Black Hills, which 
lead people into the belief that the supply is almost inexhaustible. 
In all the magnificent stretches of timber land the amount of 
timber that will furnish merchantable lumber is comparatively 
small. At least nine-tenths of the pine (which is all that will do 
for sawing) is young and too small for lumber. G-ood judges 
estimate that the total amount of merchantable saw timber in 
the Hills will not exceed 50,000,000 feet. Of this, about 15,000,- 
000 feet has been sawed and used, and it will require 10,000,000 
more to finish the improvements in progress at present and in 
contemplation, thus exhausting nearly one-half the supply that 
is in the Hills. Now, allowing an equal amount of smaller tim- 
ber that can be used for lumber, the amount is not enough to 
justify the assertions which have been made, that there was 



230 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

enough to supply the whole prairie country lying south and east. 
Those regions will be compelled to look toward the Powder river 
and Big Horn ranges for their timber. Of smaller timber there 
is an abundant supply, unless it is destroyed by fires; but with 
the reckless waste which is generally found in newly settled coun- 
tries, a few years will make good timber a scarce article in the 
mining districts. Boughton & Beary, who are among the most 
extensive manufacturers of building material, have been com- 
pelled to move their mill from Dead wood to False Bottom, over 
twelve miles, on account of this scarcity, and they say that in 
less than a year they will have to move twenty or thirty miles to 
find logs to saw, and other mills will be compelled to do likewise. 

The principal varieties of timber in the Black Hills are Nor- 
way pine, scattered over the whole extent of the Hills; black and 
white spruce, found on the north hill-sides of a large area of the 
country ; burr-oak, along the foot-hills of the eastern slope ; white 
elm along the streams in the foot-hills; cotton wood and box- 
elder along the streams; white birch, aspen, ash and mulberry 
are found in some sections, but with the exception of a small 
quantity of oak, the pine and spruce are all that are of any mer- 
chantable value. 

The oak, which in some sections attains a good size, is often 
brittle and decayed, and unfit for anything but firewood. The 
spruce is seldom larger than fifteen inches in diameter, the greater 
portion being less than ten inches, and will be found valuable for 
all purposes where strength and lightness are required, it being 
very light and elastic when seasoned. The pine which is too 
small for lumber is well adapted for piling, ties, timbering mines, 
building small bridges, etc. Lumber of the different grades sells 
at from $30 to $50 per thousand feet at Deadwood. 

The wild fruits growing in the Black Hills are evidence that 
this can be made the fruit country of the northwest. Large 
quantities of red raspberries, gooseberries, currants, service ber- 
ries, bear berries, strawberries, plums, cherries and grapes are 
found in different sections of the Hills and along the streams. 
Hazel nuts and hops are also found, the hops making a growth 
that is scarcely equaled in the rich bottoms of the Mississippi 
and Missouri. 

The flora of the Hills is extensive ; many plants which are 
carefully propagated in the eastern States grow here in profusion. 



THE BLACK HILLS. 231 

Besides the flowers of the fruit-bearing plants, are roses, larkspur, 
wild geranium, asters, phlox, several varieties of lilies, pinks, 
and many others in wonderful abundance and of most brilliant 
hues. 

CITIES AND CAMPS. 

Deadwood. — Deadwood, the present metropolis and grand ob- 
jective point of all who journey to the Black Hills, is a noisy, 
bustling city of six or seven thousand souls. It is located in a 
narrow valley, at the junction of Deadwood and Whitewood 
gulches, near the northern extremity of the Hills. It was organ- 
ized temporarily in April, 1876, and laid off into twenty-two lots, 
100 feet by 50 feet, and building commenced. As hundreds of 
new comers crowded in, the gulch was laid out for a mile in 
length, and every lot occupied. On September 11, 1876, an elec- 
tion was held, and E. B. Farnum elected mayor; Sol. Star, Dr. 
Carter, J. Miller, — Philbreck, K. Kurtz and Judge Whitehead, 
councilmen ; Con. Stapleton, marshal; and J. A. Swift, clerk and 
recorder. At the time of the location the county had not been 
open to settlement by the whites, and Indian " scares " and depre- 
dations were common. But the thirst for gold overcame all 
difficulties, brought thousands to these wilds, and in less than 
one year Deadwood grew from a few small log cabins to a city of 
seven thousand people, with buildings and improvements that 
are estimated to have cost a million dollars, and with business 
almost incalculable. It supports three daily newspapers and 
three weeklies; over two hundred shops and mercantile houses 
have been opened, up to this writing (July 15, 1877), some of 
them doing an enormous business: two large saw-mills are kept 
running night and day to furnish lumber, which is taken as fast 
as sawed and at once put into buildings. Three large banking 
houses, over thirty hotels and eating houses, with over seventy 
saloons and gambling houses are crowded with business, and 
everything is at a fever heat. Gold dust being the principal 
medium of exchange, everybody carried a sack or bottle to hold 
their change, and every place of business keeps gold scales to 
weigh out the change required. Everything has two prices, one 
for gold and the other for greenbacks, the currency price being 
ten per cent, less than gold prices. Two variety theatres are 
crowded every night, and Sunday as a day of rest is unknown. 



232 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

These, of course, are flush times for Deadwood. The lower part 
of the city, called Elizabethtown, in honor of Miss Elizabeth 
Card, the first woman in the place, is devoted to manufacturing 
and to the business of small tradesmen. It also embraces the 
French settlement and Chinese quarters. A large saw-mill, a 
planing-mill, brewery, and other manufacturing establishments 
are in this part of the town. 

Some idea of the amount of business transacted in Deadwood 
can be formed from the following facts. The banking house of 
Stebbins, Wood & Post was opened April 8, and in two months 
had purchased $150,000 worth of gold dust and $50,000 worth of 
retorted gold, their business amounting to $25,000 per day, and 
some days as high as $75,000. They have one of Mosler's 6,000 
pound time-lock safes, and the only bank vault in the Hills. 
Craves & Curtis have sold over $50,000 worth of furniture, car- 
pets, etc. Bent & Deetkin, druggists, do a business of $5,000 per 
month. The sales of clothing during the past year foots up over 
$75,000. Browning & Co., grocers, in less than thirty days sold 
goods amounting to $7,703.21, and bought goods to the amount 
of $15,364. Vandaniker & McHugh, proprietors of the IXL hotel, 
fed, in one day, over 1,000 people. 

Deadwood has two churches, several large halls, a good bath- 
house, a fine system of water-works, and an efficient fire depart- 
ment. There are at present 1,500 buildings of all classes upon 
the ground. 

The distances to various points in the Hills from Deadwood 
are as follows : Cay City, 1-J- miles ; Central City, 2 ; Lead City, 
3; Crook City, 8-J-; False Bottom, 9; Galena, 12; Spearfish, 15; 
Eapid City, 40 ; Haywood, 55; Custer, 52; Greenley's Eanch, 
10 ; Pine Grove, 20 ; Cold Springs, 30. 

Gay City and Central City. — About two miles above Dead- 
wood, on Deadwood creek, are the towns which claim to be the 
richest in the Black Hills, Gay City and Central City. Located 
as they are in a narrow gulch, with high hills on either side, they 
make a closely built business street over two miles in length. 
The mining (both quartz and gulch) gives employment to hun- 
dreds of men, and the large sums taken out makes money 
plentiful and wages very fair. 

There are found the principal quartz mills, quartz mines and 
placers at present worked in the Hills. There are five quartz 



THE BLACK HILLS. 233 

mills already at work, with several new ones nearly ready to 
commence operations, and the towns are insured a permanency 
which few other "points can claim. The population numbers 
about 3,000. 

Crook City. — Crook City, located in a beautiful park on 
Whitewood creek, eight and a half miles from Deadwood, was 
named in honor of General George Crook, whose successful cam- 
paigns against the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes have enabled the 
settlers to hold their homes. It was located March 15, 1876, and 
John Frazer elected recorder, and P. Grant, R. Low and C. Steele, 
trustees, and by the 1st of May had a population of 200. Its 
continued steady growth has increased it to a town of over 500 
permanent residents. 

Crook City is the natural outlet from Deadwood to the east 
and south, has very extensive mining interests, and, being situated 
in a fine agricultural region, must naturally become a prominent 
trading point. 

Its business is far above the average of the towns of like 
size. There are twelve business houses which do an aggregate 
business of $400,000 per year. H. A. Douglas & Co., formerly of 
Perham, Minn., publish the Black Hills Tribune, the first issue 
of which was dated June 9, 1876. 

Two saw-mills furnish scarcely enough lumber to supply the 
demand for building and mining purposes. There are three com- 
modious hotels, the Headquarters, kept by Mr. Hazen, the Mer- 
chants and the European. 

A good public school, with facilities for divine worship, add 
to the town's attractions for families. There are large quantities 
of fossils and petrefactions found in the vicinity, and the most 
extensive caves that have been discovered in the Hills are only a 
few miles distant. 

Rapid City, forty miles south of Deadwood, was located on 
the 28th day of February, 1876, by a party from Spring Creek, 
consisting of J. E. B reman, J. Allen, W. Marsten, and others. 
It was named after the river which flows through it. It now has 
a population of about six hundred, with one hundred and fifty 
buildings completed, and a number in course of erection. Bren- 
nan & Nicholson are building the largest hotel in the Hills, and 
several large stores are also in progress. 

Rapid river, which flows through the town, has a fall of sixty- 
16 



234 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

five feet to the mile, and an abundant supply of water for all 
purposes. The location being at the very verge of the plains will 
probably make it necessary to irrigate for agriculture, but the 
abundant supply of water in the river, and the amount of fall 
will render this an easy task. The low altitude will probably 
enable farmers to raise some crops which would not mature in 
the Hills. The climate is much warmer than at points farther 
up the river, and but little snow lays on the ground in winter. 

Hayivard, the county seat of Ouster county, is situated on 
Battle creek, about fifteen miles from Kapid, and about the same 
distance from Custer; has three hundred inhabitants, three 
hotels, ten business houses, and about twenty saloons. David 
Young, of Youngstown, runs a local stage line from Rapid to 
Custer through the town. 

The transaction of county business and sessions of court give 
the place considerable standing. The mines on Iron creek, 
Foster's gulch, Rosebud and Battle creek are tributary, and lend 
the town additional importance. 

Custer, — The pioneer settlement in Black Hills, having the 
finest location and grandest scenery, is Custer city, situated in a 
broad, level valley on French creek, in the southern portion of 
the Hills, it is surrounded by low, grassy hills dotted with pines, 
with high peaks in the distance, forming a background to one of 
the finest landscapes in the county. It was laid out in the early 
part of July, 1875, and called Stonewall. But little was done in 
the way of building until August, when it was reorganized, and 
the name changed to Custer City. A plat of the town was then 
made on birch bark, there being no paper in the camp. 

The latter part of August, pursuant to an order of the gen- 
eral government, the citizens were removed by troops to Fort 
Laramie, leaving six of their company, by permission, at the 
stockade to guard their interests. Late in the fall some of the 
settlers returned, and other parties coming in, the town com- 
menced growing rapidly, and the 1st of May following it con- 
sisted of about eight hundred buildings, many of them being 
built of lumber. At this time the town contained over two 
thousand inhabitants, and all kinds of business enterprises were 
represented. However, the rich discoveries reported from Dead- 
wood and Whitewood gulches caused a stampede that nearly 
depopulated the town, and from which it has never recovered. 



THE BLACK HILLS. 237 

Its beautiful location and the large extent of mining country must 
in time bring in a large permanent population, and the fine graz- 
ing and agricultural lands insure its wealth and future prosperity. 

S. M. Booth, proprietor of the leading hotel, and doing a 
large mercantile business, estimates the amount of gold taken 
out of the gulches near Custer at $30,000 per month, and increas- 
ing very rapidly. The whole population is at present about five 
hundred. The city boasts a printing office and thirty business 
houses, all doing a good business. 

Galena. — Galena is the principal town of the Bare Butte 
silver mining region. It has a population of about 300, with 150 
buildings. There are two assay offices, four stores, two saw-mills, 
and a smelter in course of erection. A large number of discover- 
ies of silver mines have been made in the vicinity. There are 
fine areas of timber for fuel adjacent, and should the silver de- 
posits prove as rich as they are now believed to be, Galena will 
soon rank among the prominent Black Hills cities. 

Spearfish. — Situated on Centennial prairie, in the fertile 
Spearfish valley, about fifteen miles from Dead wood. The finest 
stretches of farming and grazing lands in the Hills are found 
here. Spearfish river affords the principal supply of fish for the 
mining towns. 

Society. — The natural consequence of the indiscriminate rush 
of emigration from all parts of the Union into a region really 
unknown and scarcely redeemed from its original barbarism 
would seem to be social disorder of the worst kind. But instead 
of this a genuine disposition to maintain the morality which true 
manhood moulds has from the first been manifest. A broad gen- 
erosity and a strict adherence to the equitable code of "miners' 
rights" were features especially noticed in our visit in the fall 
of 1876, and are scarcely less marked today. In the absence of 
law or adequate protection, the miners met and adopted such 
simple rules as gave the offender no chance for misunderstand- 
ing. If a petty theft was exposed, the criminal was drummed 
out of camp so quickly and unmercifully that a second example 
was rarely needed. In nearly all the diggings an organization 
was effected and the usual regulations adopted almost as quickly 
as the claims were staked off. The privileges then arising were 
considered settled and sacred rights, which were as universally 
respected as are the local laws in any portion of our land. 



238 HAND-BOOK OP WYOMING. 

To fully appreciate this condition of affairs, the reader must 
remember that here was an utter wilderness, covering over 6,000 
square miles, but two years ago the jealously guarded rendezvous 
of the most powerful tribes of Indians on the continent, without 
the slightest semblance of protection or regulation by the federal 
government. In all our observations among the mines we have 
yet to witness the first dispute or misunderstanding that was not 
amicably settled. A walk through the gulches at any time might 
reveal numerous prospect holes with the absent miner's pick and 
shovel at the bottom. Asking about one of them the visitor 
would probably be answered, " Oh, that belongs to Jim Jones. 
Jim's gone over to Nigger Gulch, about twenty-five miles north 
o' here. But that don't make any difference. Here's where he 
makes his grub stake, and we all look out for his claim." Walk- 
ing into a new camp after the arrival of a mail and asking 
whether anything had arrived for yourself, the general result 
would be : " Look in that cracker-box over there, its got all the 
mail for the camp!" Sure enough, every Tom, Dick and Harry 
would dive into that box among hundreds of letters, con them 
all over and honestly pick out his own. It was freedom without 
rapacity; justice without excessive restraint. It cannot be said 
of these people that in their prosperity they are avaricious. We 
would sooner risk the chance of universal hearty welcome and 
unstinted hospitality in the rude huts of the miner than in a 
similar number of prosperous homes anywhere in i:he States. 
From the man who was cleaning up 8500 in glittering dust per 
day to he who had made but his simple "grub stake" of flour 
and bacon, we have met with the same unvarying kindness. 

In the towns where all classes of society can be found, and 
where it might be supposed that lawlessness would abound, there 
is a wonderful degree of good-fellowship shown. The deeds of 
violence which sensational writers pronounce the rule, are, on 
the contrary, the rare exceptions. 

The variety theatres, though crowded with all classes, are as 
free from objectionable features as the average variety theatre of 
the States. In Deadwood there are two churches and a Sabbath 
school, well attended. Crook City also has regular preaching. 
The Masonic fraternity have a lodge in Deadwood, established 
the latter part of June, 1877, and occupy a hall in connection 
with a lodge of Odd-fellows. 



THE BLACK HILLS. 239 

Naturally Identified with Wyoming. — The interests of Wyo- 
ming and the Black Hills region are so thoroughly alike and 
harmonious that it is simply folly to talk of their being wholly 
sundered by any such action as the creation of a separate Terri- 
tory. But as interested parties are at work to destroy so much 
of this natural identity as they can, it may be well to give 
Wyoming's status in the case more publicity. Cheyenne and 
Wyoming have, with work, money and influence, done more to 
bring about the settlement and development of the Hills than 
all adjacent States and Territories combined. Our public men 
have secured legislation ; our capital and energy have built roads 
and telegraph lines; have opened mines and constructed mills, 
and have, from the first, furnished more swift and reliable means 
of communication and more hearty support to all Black Hills 
enterprises than all other commonwealths together. And why ? 
Simply because our interests have been one, and our commercial 
relations are as natural as the law of gravitation. 

Separating the Black Hills from Dakota or Nebraska settle- 
ments are hundreds of miles o% unsettled, and probably never to 
be settled, territory. The chasm will at least not be bridged 
until nearly all other lands in the west are taken, because it is 
made up largely of treeless, waterless, alkali plains, and when the 
newest settlements in those directions, generally 400 miles dis- 
tant, are reached they have no interest, no law and no fellowship 
in common with this region, for the reason that their pursuits 
are confined wholly to agriculture or stock-raising, while these 
are so largely in the development of mines. Their nearest capi- 
tal, Yankton, is 480 miles distant. Wyoming settlements unite 
with those of the Black Hills on the south ; her industries, her 
enterprises and her needs are the same, and her capital city, 
Cheyenne, is only 250 miles distant. Neither can the Black 
Hills afford a separate territorial government. A summing up 
of this matter by one of our prominent writers* is so pertinent 
that we introduce it here : 

"Let us suppose that you carve a new Territory out of the 
southeast part of Montana, northeast part of Wyoming and the 
southwest part of Dakota, what is gained in substantial advan- 
tage ? Your young Territory becomes at once a bone of conten- 
tion among the hungry and clamorous office-seekers of the east, 

* Stephen W . Downey. 



240 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

who, failing to secure positions elsewhere, will struggle to be 
saddled by the administration upon you. You are cut off at 
once from all railway revenues. The prospects of statehood will 
be distant and dubious. What right, what privilege, what secu- 
rity or what encouragement would be subserved by such separate 
organization, that would not be better subserved by union with 
Wyoming ? The interests, demands and requirements of a large 
and populous Territory, full of resources and fast approaching 
admission as a State, receive respectful attention both from the 
executive and legislative branches of the general government; 
while those of the small and weak Territories are treated with 
comparative indifference. That such should he the case is not 
maintained ; that such is the case will scarcely be denied ; and 
be it remembered that we must deal with things as they are, not 
as they should be. 

" The settlement of central and northern Wyoming by a min- 
ing population, consequent upon the removal or repression of 
hostile Indians, will increase the population of the Territory, if 
left intact, so that admission as a State may be looked for at no 
distant da} r . 

" The southern part of Wyoming seeks, and will seek, by all 
honorable means in her power, to preserve unsevered the Terri- 
tory as now organized. By such preservation we believe the 
highest interests of the whole region will be subserved. The 
whole, as now organized, is destined, ultimately, to be a great 
mineral and pastoral region, with sufficient agricultural belts, 
probably, to supply the home market. These interests can be 
better defended and fostered by united than by divided action. 
All parts will be easily accessible by the Union Pacific railroad 
and its projected branches. 

"We extend a warm welcome to those that have recently 
crossed our borders to engage in mining enterprise. Now, in 
view of the common resources, interests, hopes and perils per- 
vading the length and breadth of our Territory, we ask you to 
join us, to be part of us and to make common cause with us in 
warding off disruption. For the same or similar reasons we 
invite those of you whose fortunes have led you to locate east of 
our boundaries, to seek a separation from a Territory which, 
apart from this vicinity, has nothing in common with you, and 
to attach yourselves to a Territory which has everything in com- 



THE BLACK HILLS. 241 

mon, and whose legislative policy, as Territory or State, will 
constantly foster by all reasonable means the industry in which 
you are engaged, because it is the industry by which, if at all, 
must come the future w T ealth and greatness of our State. 

"First, we have a unity of geographic, climatic and geologic 
characteristics, binding us to the same labors, purposes and ends, 
by a law of nature stronger than the law of political government, 
forcing to legislation for the common interest regardless of party 
predilections. 

" Second, by union we have one strong Territory, able to com- 
mand attention to our necessities and our rights, instead of two 
weak and inefficient organizations. 

"Third, by union the north shares with the south in the 
benefits of $125,000 annually paid in taxes by the Union Pacific 
Eailroad Company, which by a severance the north foregoes. 

"Fourth, by union the extension of railway facilities will be 
fostered, whereas by severance it will be retarded; and 

"Fifth, by union we can look forward to a much nearer state- 
hood, with the high privileges of independence which it brings. 

" Having followed the course of empire thus far westward, let 
us unitedly work out here the destiny of the second great State 
sitting astride the crowning ridge of the' American continent." 

Routes, Outfitting Points, etc. — After traversing two of the 
principal routes to the Hills, and much of the region crossed by 
two others, the writer unhesitatingly pronounces the Cheyenne 
route incomparable; and, what is of little less importance, can 
state emphatically that no city aspiring to such trade has half 
the facilities for outfitting miners and settlers, or for forwarding 
them and their freights, as Cheyenne. All the local papers regu- 
larly publish tables of distances, with every minutia of camping- 
places, eating stations, etc., and we need not indulge in such de- 
tails. It need only be said that the Cheyenne route for the first 
hundred miles north of the city passes through the best settled 
portion of Wyoming, where for years our finest herds have 
roamed and where now nearly every occupied homestead will 
compare favorably for the value and style of its improvements 
with those of any western State. The remaining one hundred 
and fifty miles of road is. being rapidly redeemed from the ori- 
ginal solitude by ranches located on every stream. 

Our home stage line is simply perfect, and the telegraph, 



242 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

stretched along the entire route, is another advantage and facil- 
ity offered only by the Cheyenne road. In the matter of freight- 
ing no city can hope to compete with Cheyenne. There are over 
twenty large and reliable firms, running two hundred wagons, 
regularly engaged in this business, and a great number of smaller 
freighters who aggregate as many wagons more. The entire 
number give employment to over four hundred men, and can 
easily move two million pounds of freight at one loading. 
Freight rates to Dead wood are from three to five dollars per 
hundred pounds, the price first named being the lowest for ox- 
team freights, and the higher price being the average for fast 
horses and mule trains. 

The following comparative table of distances is compiled from 
official reports of odometer measurements, where they could be 
obtained. In other cases the statements of the best informed 
and most reliable citizens of the Black Hills are made a basis for 
estimates. It will be seen that Cheyenne is nearer Dead wood by 
forty miles than any other point on the Union Pacific railroad, 
and seventy-five miles nearer than Bismarck, the terminus of 
the Northern Pacific : 

Miles. 

Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Deadwood 250 

Sidney, Nebraska, to Deadwood 290 

Kearney, Nebraska, to Deadwood 358 

Bismarck, Dakota, to Deadwood , 325 

Yankton, Dakota, to Deadwood 480 

North Platte, Nebraska, to Deadwood 373 

Fort Pierre, Dakota, to Deadwood 230 

Grand Island, Nebraska, to Deadwood 450 

Bozeman, Montana, to Deadwood '. 490 

Cloud Peak, Big Horn Mountains, to Deadwood 200 



CHAPTER VI. 



REMINISCENCES AND MISCELLANEOUS HAPPENINGS. 

WHAT would a book of this character be, in this runaway 
age, without a chapter of Eeminiscences? Nothing in 
the west, or east either, for that matter, is so young, or old, or 
" middle-aged," that it doesn't date back to a period' when it 
deserved immortalization in gossip. For instance, when the 
Union Pacific railway company, in the very early history of 
Cheyenne, offered a town lot to the first boy born there, Mr. 
William Wise, without any particular parade or fuss, one bright 
morning in December, 18G7, stepped around to the company's 
headquarters, and informed them of the very recent birth and 
immediate christening of " George Cheyenne Wise." To be more 
particular about dates, that the boy may be enabled to get a good 
title to his property, we will state that this happened on Decem- 
ber 6, 1867. But many bouncing Wyoming boys immediately 
followed, and the first little pioneer was soon lost sight of by the 
general public. 

November 13, 1867, the Union Pacific railroad track reached 
Cheyenne, and we are told that music, enthusiasm and bunting 
celebrated the event as was never such an event celebrated before 
in a Eocky Mountain town. On Sunday, August 4, 1867, the 
first sermon was preached to a Cheyenne congregation by a 
Baptist minister, whose name deserves the publicity we are un- 
able to give it. In September, 1867, Thomas E. McLeland, as 
the first postmaster of Cheyenne, commenced his official duties 
in a 10 by 15 shanty. He handled nearly 3,000 letters per day, 
and received the gratifying salary of one dollar per month. The 
first paper, the Leader, was issued by Mr. N. A. Baker, on the 
19th of September, 1867. In the first few months of its publica- 
tion it told of the arrival of the first theatrical company, " The 
Julesburg Theatrical Troupe;" of the Wells, Fargo & Co.'s 
coaches leaving for Denver three times per week, and the Union 



244 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

Pacific track approaching Cheyenne at the rate of two to four 
miles per day ; also, of the completion of telegraphic connection 
with Denver. The advent of a velocipede, on January 23, 1868, 
among the cow-boys, " bull-whackers" and western riff-raff gen- 
erally, was the occasion of no little talk and merriment. About 
that time occurred a rather primitive wedding, and it was prim- 
itively announced in this wise : " On the east half of the north- 
west quarter of section twenty-two (22), township twenty-one 
(21) north, of range eleven (11), east, in an open sleigh, and 
under an open and unclouded canopy, by the Eev. J. F. Mason, 
James B., only son of John Cox, of Colorado, and Ellen C, eldest 
daughter of Major 0. Harrington, of Nebraska." 

March 22, the arrival of W. C. Erwin from the Sweetwater 
mines, with sixty-five pounds of gold dust, excited new interest 
in those diggings, and not a few of the Cheyenne people went to 
the scene of the rich strikes. Then, on that memorable day in 
April, 1869, when appointments of officials were announced for 
the new Territory of Wyoming, there was a wonderful flutter of 
office-seeking hearts. There is a standing joke to the effect that 
a large delegation of patriotic citizens who had long suffered in 
Washington, that their beloved Territory might be honored by 
their appointment, were compelled to walk home across the States 
and plains, while the successful aspirants from other lands came 
in the usually dignified and fitting manner, by rail. Cheyenne 
boasted a school as early as the 9th of February, 1868, Mr. M. A. 
Arnold and wife being the teachers. The first church building 
was completed early in September, 1871, by the Methodist Epis- 
copal society. Masonic and Odd-Fellows lodges were organized 
in the early months of 1868. 

Black Hills reminiscences, although dating back only three 
years, are in a fair way to be lost sight of, unless soon placed in 
enduring shape. The first building of any kind in the Hills was 
that erected by Gordon's party on French creek, in the fall of 
1874. It was really a stockade, eighty-six feet square and ten feet 
high, with six cabins ranged around the inside. The party num- 
bered twenty-six persons, and included Mrs. Talent and her in- 
fant child, — the first white woman and child to enter the Black 
Hills. Gordon's party mined near the stockade during that win- 
ter. The first town was Custer City, laid out in July, 1875, and 
the first frame building in the Hills was built at Custer, by 



REMINISCENCES, ETC. 245 

J. W. Lytle, in February, 1876. The pioneer saw-mill com- 
menced turning out lumber in. the vicinity of Ouster in January, 
1876, and was started by Daniel Durett. Printing offices were 
among the earliest enterprises, the first to reach the Hills being 
that of Merrick & Laughlin, of Denver. Its entry was at Cus- 
ter, in May, 1876, but it was moved to Deadwood during the 
following month, where the Black Hills Weekly Pioneer was soon 
flung to the breeze. They came to the conclusion that it was 
not good to live alone in those northern wilds at a very early 
date, for James Hines and Miss Mattie Douglas consummated 
the first marriage in March, 1876, when mail and telegraph were 
unknown, and folks had hardly thought of building anything 
but log houses. Ethel Arnold was the first babe born in the 
Hills, and was announced at Custer on May 25, 1876. Eev. H. 
W. Smith, who preached the first sermons ever listened to by 
Black Hills congregations at Deadwood and Custer, in the early 
spring of 1876, was killed by Indians in ambush while he was 
en route to Crook City one Sunday morning to fill an engage- 
ment there. 

Gold was taken out of Deadwood gulch for the first time 
during the present stampede by a miner named ISTuckles, in Sep- 
tember, 1875. To Mr. W. H. Hibbard, of Cheyenne, belongs the 
honor of first extending the electric wire to Custer, Deadwood 
and other Black Hills cities. His telegraph line was completed 
to Custer October 19, 1876, and to Deadwood December 1st of 
the same year. Crook City boasts a newspaper, the Tribune, 
published first on June 9, 1876. Following the Pioneer, at 
Deadwood, were the Times and Champion. The three last named 
now publish large daily and weekly editions, where two years 
ago the amiable savage was reading his title clear and swearing 
that he would have $80,000,000 for the country or die in the last 
ditch, — all of which disappeared in smoke. J. J. Williams built 
the first log cabin on the present site of Deadwood in November, 
1875, and his modest effort of twenty months ago is now over- 
shadowed by fifteen hundred good frame houses. The "Bella 
Union" variety theatre was first to give public entertainment of 
that kind at Deadwood, and opened with a grand flourish of 
trumpets and cool toilets early in the summer of 1876. But the 
inimitable Jack Langrishe and his accomplished wife soon ap- 
peared on the scene, with a good legitimate theatrical troupe, and 



246 HAND-BOOK OE WYOMING. 

gave amusement-seekers a chaste and high-class character of en- 
tertainments. When business grew dull Mr. Langrishe wielded 
a graceful editorial pen on the Pioneer staff, or else worked his 
gulch claims. From the latter he made good pay in the depth 
of winter, when he was compelled to boil water to thaw out the 
frozen ground. Black Hillers who thought they wanted a new 
Territory called their first meeting on April 7, 1877. It was pro- 
posed to call the Territory "Lincoln," and numerous meetings 
were held, which resulted in the sending of delegate Myers to 
Washington to push the matter there. But the storm has sub- 
sided. 

Post- trader Adair, at Cantonment Keno, on Powder river, 
furnished an item for this chapter by building the first bridge 
which ever spanned the turbid Powder, in February, 1877. Its 
building was contracted to a young German miner, who was 
wintering at the cantonment with the intention of going into 
the Big Horn mountains in the spring. The contractor took 
the job very low, but employed a dozen companions and paid 
them very fair wages. When the bridge was half finished it had 
cost more than the contractor was to receive, and in order to 
make the matter square the employes voted enough of their 
wages back to their employer to finish up the structure, and then 
agreed to go ahead and complete it. This was finally done, but 
a day or two afterward the stream exhibited its ugliness by piling 
up a terrific ice gorge and sweeping the heavy logs downward to 
the Yellowstone. Captain Pollock, in command at the canton- 
ment, then built a beautiful and massive structure, 160 feet long, 
near the ruins of the old one. But this, too, was destined to 
early destruction, and in the month of May the floods swept it 
down as though it was mere cob-web. Murphey's ranch, on Clear 
Fork of Powder, established in July of the present year, is the 
first trading post in the Big Horn region. It is located within 
fifty miles of the scenes of several of the hardest-fought Indian 
battles of the past few years, and we hope will cluster around it 
fitting monuments to the skill of General Crook and other offi- 
cers, and the bravery of our frontier troops. A good story has 
been going the rounds at the expense of Perry Cheen, who is at 
present, and has been for many years, interpreter at the Crow 
Agency. During the visit of the Earl of Dunraven to Montana, 
in 1874, he called at the Crow Agency, and after giving a sump- 



REMINISCENCES, ETC. 247 

tuous "feast" and having a little "medicine talk" with the 
chiefs, he commenced making inquiries in regard to the business 
professions, etc., of the white men present, and, turning to Perry, 
inquired of him his occupation. Mr. Cheen stretched himself 
up to the full dignity of his profession and delivered himself 
thusly : " I am interrupter to the Crow Indian-cy and dis-tri-buter 
of the India-new-ities." 

The story of the first steam-whistle on the Missouri river, as 
told by a Kansas paper, is amusing, if it is old. Its introduction 
dates back to 1844. At that time the settlers on the Missouri 
river were in the habit of making regular yearly visits to St. 
Louis to do their trading for themselves and friends. They were 
not provided with daily intercourse with the outside world, and 
many who lived back from the river seldom, if ever, saw a steam- 
boat more than once a year. It happened that during the fall of 
1844 the new steamboat Lexington started up the Missouri river 
loaded down to the guards with freight. Among the passengers 
were Theodore "Warner, Ben Holiday and a planter named George 
Yocum. 

The steamer Lexington was provided with a steam-whistle — 
the first used on the Missouri river — and, as it happened, no one 
knew about it except Warner, who was a wag and a lover of a 
joke. The night after leaving St. Louis the passengers were col- 
lected together, playing cards (for fun) in the cabin, when the 
talk turned upon steamboat explosions, then very common. 

" I feel perfectly safe on this boat," said Warner, as he dealt 
the cards. 

" Why ? " inquired Yocum, the planter. 

" Why ? " echoed the rest of the company. 

" I will tell you why," said the wag, carefully studying his 
cards. " This boat is provided with a new patent safety-valve, 
which notifies the passengers on board when it is about to blow 
up. It is a concern which makes a most unearthly noise, and 
when you hear it it is time to get back aft or jump overboard." 

Notwithstanding the fact that Warner told his story with 
the most solemn and earnest countenance, some were skeptical. 
Not so, however, with the planter. Next morning, when the 
Lexington was steaming up the long, straight stretch of river 
just below Washington, Missouri, the passengers were at break- 
fast. The meal had been called and all were busily engaged in 



248 HAND-BOOK OF WYOMING. 

doing justice to the kind of meals they were accustomed to serve 
on steamboats in those days. Suddenly the whistle commenced 
to blow — the first time on the trip. The passengers looked at 
each other a moment, and horror and dismay spread itself over 
their faces. The first man to realize the situation and act was 
Yocum, the planter, who, with hair erect and blanched face, 
jumped up, crying, as he pulled over one after another of the 
passengers : 

"Bun, run for your lives! the d — thing 's going to bust! 
Follow me and let's save ourselves ! " 

Of course there was a stampede for the rear of the boat, and 
it was only by the exertions of some of the crew that the more 
excited were restrained from jumping into the river. 

But the best of all incidents and remembrances, and those 
fraught with most direct import to the people of the great north- 
west, are the records of the creation of our great trans-conti- 
nental railway. Commencing in 1865, forty miles of track were 
laid westward from the Missouri river. In 1866 the rails had 
reached out three hundred miles into the wilderness of plains 
which their influence is now so rapidly changing into a land of 
beautiful homes. By January 1, 1868, five hundred and forty 
miles had been completed and the backbone of the continent 
surmounted, and by May 10, 1869, the oceans were united by 
continuous bands of iron. In a little over three years this 
mighty western continent was spanned, the foundation for half 
a dozen grand States laid, and a region believed to be irredeem- 
able turned into one vast mine of production reaching from one 
end to the other. A force of from 20,000 to 25,000 men were 
engaged on this gigantic project, and from 5,000 to 6,000 teams 
were kept in constant employ during its progress. No summing- 
up could be more fitting and striking than those already given 
so much publicity by Hon. Henry T. Williams : " Think of the 
wonderful results accomplished in a few years by the opening of 
the Pacific railroad. In 1850 the Far West was unknown and un- 
explored. In 1860 its total population was but 619,000, most of 
whom were residents of the Pacific coast. In 1870 the popula- 
tion had doubled. In 1876, seven years after the opening of the 
Pacific railroad, see how wonderful the change. The population 
of the far western States and Territories had again increased forty 
per cent, and the Far West now includes this immense field reached 



REMINISCENCES, ETC. 



249 



only by this railroad. Population in 1875, 1,524,703 ; area of 
square miles, 1,445,332 ; area of square acres, 1,332,744,755. The 
entire capital now invested in railroad enterprises in this vast re- 
gion now exceeds $750,000,000. Over three hundred towns and 
stations have arisen on the great trans-continental route and its 
branches. The annual receipts exceed $30,000,000 a year, and 
the number of passengers, both through and local, exceeds 1,000,- 
000. The tide of pleasure travel has turned westward, and 
Europe clasps hands with China and Japan across our continent. 
Thus have seven short years turned the travel of the world." 

17 




GOOD TIMES! BETTER TIMES! THE BEST TIMES 



FREE FOR ONE YEAR! 



THE CINCINNATI WEEKLY TIMES. 



The Times is in the Thirty-third year of its existence, with a National Character 
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251 



FIRSTS NATIONAL BANK 






n HfiBssHtirfcr; *B*tt*DH: n *s*d:*d* 




FIRST ti®IONALBANK 




A. R. CONVERSE, 

President. 

J. E. WILD, 

Cashier. 



FIRST 

NATIONAL 

BANK, 

CHEYENNE 

WYOMING, 



j!g| Capital, $75,000 
" Surplus, 50,000 



TRANSACTS A 

GBUEEAL 

Banking Business 

BUYS AND SELLS 

GOLD DUST, COIN 

AND 

Exchange on all the 
Principal Cities. 

New York Correspondent, 

CHEMICAL BANK. 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiii fiiiitii iiiiMiiii iiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiimimiiiur 

p Chicago Correspondent, 
FIRST NAT. BANK. 



JOSLIN & PARK, 

3ivi:a,rL-uLfa,ct-CLriri.g: TeTxrelers 

AND DEALERS IN 

DIAMONDS, WATCHES, SILVER-WARE, CLOCKS, ETC. 

FINE NATIVE COLD JEWELRY OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 

Orders by mail carefully and promptly attended to. 

CHEYENNE, WYOMING, AND SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH. 

252 



A. R. CONVERSE. F. E. WARREN. 



Converse & Warren, 



DEALERS IN 



Furniture, Crockery, 

PLATED WARE, GLASS WARE, 

CARPETS, CURTAINS, WALL PAPER, 

BURIAL CASES, COFFINS, ROBES, 

AND 

House Furnishing Goods 

OF ALL KINDS. 

LOWEST WHOLESALE PRICES GIVEN TO THE TRADE. 
Orders by Mail or Telegraph will receive Prompt Attention. 



SIXTEENTH STREET, 

Cheyenne, Wyoming. 

J*. J".A.Tr JOSLIlsT, 

STAPLE AND FANCY 

DRY GOODS, NOTIONS, ETC. ETC, 

COMPLETE STOCK ALWAYS ON HAND. 
Everything Sold at the Lowest Prices. 



Sixteenth Street, - opposite First National Bank, 

(One Door from Joslin & Park.) 

CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

253 



Smith, Guiterman & Harrington, 



DEALERS IUST 



Jf tie j|wli* jfuk $*$*$* 

Boots, Shoes, Hats, Caps, Eto. 

No. 3 Carey's Block, Seventeenth Street, 
CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 



G. H. & J. S. COLLINS, 

(ED. H. MERRILL, Manager,^ 
MANUFACTURERS OF ALL KINDS OF 



D 



1^ ]Ip» i5* 




mm 





SADDLES, COLLARS, WHIPS, ETC. 

Particular attention given to all outfits for 

XlercLezs arid. Stocl^ ZLv^Eera... 

CHEYENNE, WYOMING TER. 

254: 



EDITOEIAL BRIEFS. 



Sportsmen's Outfits. — Parties outfitting for the mines, or pre- 
paring for a hunting and fishing tour in the mountains, are 
reminded that Cheyenne boasts an armory in keeping with its 
other extensive establishments. The Messrs. Freund Bros, have 
an endless supply of breech-loading rifles, fishing-tackle, etc., 
and the very best manufacturers are represented with goods and 
prices which defy competition in the West. 

TJie Cliicago, Burlington & Quincy.—Iii this time of im- 
proved railroading facilities it is difficult to discriminate between 
rival lines, but we are of the belief that the Chicago, Burlington 
& Qnincy is simply perfection. Few of the routes leading to our 
region pretend to compete with it. Take this old, reliable, 
magnificently equipped and splendidly managed line from 
Chicago to Omaha, and enjoy the benefits of palace hotel cars, 
Pullman drawing-room and sleeping cars and first-class equip- 
ment generally. 

TJie Cheyenne Daily Sun. — One of the brightest, newsiest and 
most reliable of all Western papers, is the Cheyenne Daily Sun, 
as conducted by E. A. Slack, Esq. Its editorial corps comprises 
thoroughly representative Western men ; its correspondents are 
scattered in every city and camp, and its management spares no 
pains or expense to furnish a journal really in advance of every 
other interest. A weekly edition furnished the desideratum so 
often asked by Eastern readers — a perfect resume of frontier news 
and frontier interests, and is published at the low price of $2.50 
per annum. 

255 



E. H. LEIBEY. J. H. NICHOLS. 

LEIBEY & NICHOLS. 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALERS IN 



ALSO AGENTS FOR THE 



Missouri Tent & Awning Company 

SIXTEENTH STREET, 

0X3iE"3rEisr2srE, T7^5roiM:in>Ta-- 



JS^Particular attention given to outfitting parties for the Black Hills. ~§^ 

Eyer's Hotel and French Restaurant, 

EDDY STREET, CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

§nmt[ t l|r£$If ®tpter$, nnh nil Jhtrttrb* fjimxm 

This establishment has been thoroughly i*efitted, and is now ready to accommodate its old 

patrons in first-class style. The Bar is always provided with the 

best of Liquors and Cigars. 

FREE 'BUS TO AND FROM ALL TRAINS. 

id. id. id^:r,:e], 



# 



CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

Crayon, India Ink and Colored Work a Specialty. 

256 



THOZMZ-^-S CREIGHTOIsr, 

DEALER IN 

Boots! Shoos, Rubber Goods I Miners' Wear. 

All goods sold in my house are warranted, and will be repaired free of charge if 
ripping "occurs. 

CARR'S NEW BUILDING, FERGUSON ST., CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

^SJSUD. JL,J±.l<TJDJi.TJ, 

dealer in 

FRESH MEATS, GAME, FISH H0 VEGETABLES, 

SEVENTEENTH STREET, BETWEEN EDDY AND FERGUSON, 
CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

B. HELLMAIT, 

nvciEiE^CHi-^nNrT t^iloir,, 

CLOTHIER, 

Sixteenth Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. 

TT^IVt. ZZ. HOIjIjIUAY, 

Ij^l:r,^:m:i:e city ^ztsno cnzE-srzEiisriisnE, -wh-ozmihstg-., 

DEALER IN 

Lumber, Brick, and All Kinds of Building Material 

Lime, Lath. Shingles, Doors, Sash. Blinds, Mouldings, Pickets, Glass, Tarred Felt, 
Building Paper, Oil, Lead. Putty, and Rawlins' Metallic Paint. 

AtSO, CARRIES A LARGE STOCK OF 

LIGHT AND HEAVY WAGONS AND AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 

DELMOITIGO HOTEL 

ON THE EUROPEAN PLAN. 

OPPOSITE FIRST NATIONAL BANK, SIXTEENTH STREET, CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

Good Rooms for Rent by the Day, Week or Month, 
At Reasonable Rates, With or Without Board. 

CASWELL, THE Boss. 

POLE CREEK RANCH 

FRED SCHWARTZ, PROPRIETOR. 

This establishment is located eighteen miles from Cheyenne, 

AND IS 

A Eegular Eating Station on the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Koute. 

MEALS AT ALL HOURS. 

CHOICEST WINES, LIQUORS AND CIGARS AT THE BAR. 

A fine two-story Hotel has just been completed, and the traveling 

public can be assured of receiving the best of accommodations. 

Stable room for IS head of stock. Hay 75 ets. per span, and grain 

furnished at. reasonable rates. 

257 



LEADING PAPER OF THE WEST 



THE DAILY AND WEEKLY 

Rocky Mountain News 

Pioneer of Colorado and the Eocky Mountain Country. 

ESTABLISHED 1859. 



Job Printing, Binding and Blank Book Manufacturing 

.A. SPECIALTY. 



TERMS IN ADVANCE- \ ■ Dail y^ 36 co ^ umng ^ $ 10 °° P er y eai % or & 1 °0 P er month. 

"'Weekly, 48 " 2 00 " 1 25 for 6 months. 

Specimen Copies Free. 
Address NEWS PRINTING COMPANY, 

DENVER, COLORADO. 

JOB PRINTING. 



The RACINE JOURNAL Steam Booh and Job Office 
is prepared to execute any and all orders for Job Print- 
ing, Pamphlets, Mercantile Work, College Printing, 
Legal Printing, Blanh Boohs, etc. etc. Our facilities 
are first-class in every respect— fast steam presses, latest 
styles of type, accomplished workmen, and other neces- 
saries for a first-class job office. 

We ivill be pleased to furnish estimates at request. 

Address, 

Journal Job Office, 

zr,-a.oi:£t:e3, ■^tis. 

F. 1ST. Starbuck, Proprietor. 

258 



H. H. aELPHENSTINE. R. B. DURBIN. 

HELPHENSTINE & DURBIN, 

Calif brnia, ZL/£ea,t l^Estrl^et., 

Sixteenth St,, bet. Hill and Ferguson, CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

Dealers in FRESH and SALT MEATS, FISH, GAME, SAUSAGES, VEGETABLES, Etc. 

ze=c- :k^.^s, 

CHEYENNE, "W "3T O IM: I UST G- , 
DEALER IN 

Shuttler Wagons, Champion Mowing Machines, 

AND ALL KINDS OF 

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 

Blacksmithing and Repairing Promptly Done, and All Work Warranted. 

W. D. PEASE. J. S. TAYLOR. 

Pease & Taylor, 

Wholesale and Retail Dealers in 

Groceries and Provisions, 

Green and Dried Emits, Vegetables, Eanch Butter, 
TEAS, SUGARS, SPICES, CANNED GOODS, Etc. 



Special Attention paid to Outfitting Parties for the Big Horn and Black Hills 

Region. 



CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 



EXCELLENT T^ZBLIE EIIfcTIE ILIQTTOIELS. 



TOKIIbT XjIZbTZEH'S 
IRZEST^TTIR^ZLSTT ^IL>riD IB^-IR,, 

Sixteenth Street, - between Ferguson and Eddy, 
CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

3>TE^^Xj03ST Sz> HECHT, 

THOMES STREET, CHEYElTlsrE, ■WYOIMIIItsra-, 
SOLE AGENTS FOR 

The Studebaker Wagon and the New Buckeye Mower, 

Strongest. Neatest, and Best Light Mower Made. 
Repairing and Blacksmithing Promptly Done by First Class Workmen. 

is. :b- hcozrisie sz ao- 

DEALER IN 

Pine and Hardwood Lute, Doors, Sash, lonldinp, Etc. 

CHEYENNE. WYOMING. 

259 



C. M. STEBBINS, S. N. WOOD, G. I. STEBBINS. 

New York. Deadwood. Denver. 

W. R. STEBBINS, M. E. POST, 

Cheyenne, Cheyenne. 

(Late Asst. Cash. Col. Nat. Bank, Denver.) 



Stebbins, Wood & Post 



Bankers 



Deadwood, - Dakota, 



DO A GENERAL BANKING BUSINESS 



Buy and Sell Gold Dust, Coin and Bullion, 



MAKE ADVANCES ON BULLION AND ORES FOR SHIPMENT ON 
ACCOUNT OF PRODUCERS. 



Drafts on All Parts of the United States and Europe for Sale. 



Telegraph Transfers on All Parts of the United States. 



SPECIAL ATTENTION GIVEN TO COLLECTIONS. 

260 



GRAVES & CURTIS, 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALERS IN 

Furniture, Crockery 

Glassware, Chandeliers, Window G-lass, 

CARPETS AND BEDDING, 

METALLIC BURIAL CASES. 

n^aan Street, - DDead-^woocL, Dakota,. 

BENT & DEETKIN, 



WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALERS IN 



Toilet Articles, Books, Stationery and Pocket Cutlery, 
DEADWOOD, DAKOTA TER. 

J. B. VAJSTDANIKER. "J" ■■^■■ppa nm P. McHTJGH. 

HOTEL AND RESTAURANT 

The Largest and Finest Hotel in the Black Hills, 

LOCATED ONE BLOCK FROM STAGE OFFICE. 

The Tables always supplied with the Best the Market Affords. 
C. M. CLARK, Chief Clerk. VANDANTKER & McHTJGH, Props. 

261 



BLACS: HILLS STAGE IfcOAID. 

Hat Creek Ranch, 

BY JACK BOWMAN. 



st^o-ie station 



TABLE SUPPLIED WITH THE BEST OF EVERYTHING. 



Good Corral, Hay, Grain, and Stabling. 



C. W. N. RUGGLES. T. H. SWAZIE. 

American Hotel, 

DEAD'WOOD 3 - - BLACK HILLS, 



FIRST-CLASS HOUSE. 



C. W. RUGGLES, (formerly of R. R. House at Wallace on K. P. R. R.j 

T. H. SWAZIE, (formerly of Chicago,) 

PROPRIETORS. 



A. D. BEVAN, M.D. D. K. DICKINSON, M.D. 

BEVAN & DICKINSON, 
ijhgsirians mul j^nrgeon^, 

Office, over Brown & Thuni's Bank, 



Dr. L. G. Fuller, 
Bemttot, 

Filling, Extracting and Inserting 
Artificial Teeth. 



Broken Plates Mended. All Work First Claw. 
DEADWOOD, D. T. DEADWOOD, D. T. 



J. M. YOUNG & A. B. CHAPLINE, ! R °:! INSO * * R ° SS < 

Wholesale and Retail Dealers %n 

Jlihrneyi at £aw, GROCERIES 



AND GENERAL MERCHANDISE 



ALSO, 

Real Estate and Money Brokers, 



Office, over Brown &. ThunVs Bank, 

DEADWOOD, D. T. DEADWOOD, D. T. 

Cheyenne Weekly Sun 

THE BEST OF ALL FRONTIER PAPERS. 



$2.50 - per Annum. 



Address E. A. SLACK, 

Cheyenne. Wyoming. 

262 



3^nc3ST^-^E^^I^-A- Sz CO. 



WHOLESALE DEALERS IN 



Wines, Liquors and Cigars, 

Fine Imported Goods and Kentucky Whiskies a Specialty. 
AGENTS FOR PHILIP BEST'S MILWAUKEE BEER. 

English and Scotch Ales, Dublin and London Porter. Champagnes, 
Etc. Etc. 

.A-XjIi GOODS -W-A.:R,:R,.A.2TTED ^S BEPBESENTED. 

Seventeenth St., - Cheyenne, W. T. 




INTER-OCEAN HOTEL, 



B. L. Ford, 



CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 



Proprietor. 



This House is new, with large and well ventilated rooms, all elegantly furnished. 
Electric Bells connecting all rooms with the office. All trains stop from thirty minutes to 
four hours, and everybody takes meals at the Inter-Ocean. Free 'Bus to all trains. 

CHUGWATEK HOTEL. 

JOHN PHILLIPS, Proprietor. 

Situated on the Mail and Stage Route from CHEYENNE to FOBT LARAMIE and the 
BLACK HILLS, fifty-two miles from Cheyenne. 

REGULAR EATING STATION FOR STAGE PASSENGERS, 

AND AFFORDS 

THE BEST OF BOARD and GOOD COMFORTABLE ROOMS. 

The Bar supplied with the choicest Wines, Liquors and Cigars. 
A good Bam connected with the premises with Stalls for Fifty Head of Stock. 

263 



TO ODE^-FSaOM 



Chicago* Beadwood 



OMAHA or YANKTON, 



OE, VIA 



if-oirt zfoiieiesiesie or :bis:m:.^:r:k:, 



Chicago & North -Western 

Is by all odds the best line for all persons to take going to or coming from the BLACK 
HILLS. It owns the SHORTEST and BEST EOUTES, and can offer choice over all 
other routes. 

All Railroad and Ticket Agents can sell you Through Tickets by this route. 

Insist that your Tickets between Chicago and Council Bluffs read over the CHICAGO 
& NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY, and refuse all others. 

Pullman Hotel Cars are run on this line. 

No other road runs Pullman or any other kind of Hotel Cars between Chicago and 
Council Bluffs. 

The trains are made up of elegant new PULLMAN PALACE HOTEL and SLEEPING 
COACHES, luxurious, well lighted and well ventilated DAY COACHES, and pleasant 
lounging and Smoking Cars. The Cars are all equipped with celebrated Miller Safety 
Platform and Patent Cuffers and Couplings, Westinghouse Safety Air Brakes, and every 
other appliance that has been devised for the safety of Passenger Trains. In a word, this 

Great Through Line 

has the Best and Smoothest Track, and the most elegant and comfortable equipment of 
any road in the West, and has no competitor in the country. 

Remember you ask for your Tickets via the CHICAGO & NORTH-WESTERN 
RAILWAY, and take no other. 

MARVIN HUGHITT, W. H. STENNETT, 

General Manager. Gen'l Passenger Ag't. 

264 



GEO! G: MASTEN, 



WHOLESALE DEALER ITS 



Wines, Liquors and Cigars 



AGENT FOR ST. LOUIS BOTTLED BEER. 



Cor. Sixteenth and Ferguson Streets, 
CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

DAILY, $10. THE WEEKLY, $2. 

Denver Tribune : 

DEVOTED TO THE MINING, AGRICULTURAL AND POLIT- 
ICAL INTERESTS OF COLORADO. 



HAS THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY PAPER IN THE STATE. 



Parties desiring to emigrate to the Centennial State will find in its eolumns 
all desired information as to soil, climate and resources. 

HERMAN BECKURTS, Proprietor, 

DENVER, COLORADO, 
18 265 



Kansas Pacific Railway. 

SHORTEST JJYD MOST DIRECT ROUTE 

BETWEEN 

COLORADO AND THE EAST. 



114 
26 



MILES THE SHORTEST LINE FROM 
DENVER TO KANSAS CITY. 



HOURS QUICKER THAN AM OTHER ROUTE FROM 
DENVER TO KANSAS CITY AND POINTS EAST. 



THE ONLY LINE running through trains, with Pullman Palace Cars attached, 
"between Denver and Kansas City, making close connections in Union Depot, Kansas City, 
with through trains for the East, North and South. 

Baggage Checked Through to Destination. 



The Great Through Freight Line. 

Unrivaled facilities offered for direct and prompt dispatch of freight. 

ITS "FAST FREIGHT EXPRESS" CONNECTS CLOSELY WITH ALL WESTERN 

CONNECTIONS. 

THROUGH BILLS OF LADING 

Given from Seaboard and intermediate points to 

DENVER, CHEYENNE, COLORADO SPRINGS, PUEBLO, CANON CITY, 
LA VETA AND EL MORO. 



The Popular Eoute to New Mexico, Arizona and San Juan. 

The only route west of the Mississippi River equipped with the 
CELEBRATED WESTINGHOUSE IMPROVED AUTOMATIC AIR BRAKES. 



fW On all East-bound shipments we offer special inducements. The favorite ore, 
wool and hide line. Through hills of lading issued and every advantage offered. 

Mark and Consign " Care Kansas Pacific Railway." 

D. E. CORNELL, JOHN MUIR, 

Gen'l Passenger Agent, Kansas City. Gen'l Freight Agent, Kansas City. 

T. F. OAKES, 
Gen'l Superintendent, Kansas City. 

266 



SHORTEST, BEST AND ONLY 

STAGE LINE TO THE 

WIND RIVER AND BIGf HORN REGIONS 

FROM THE UNION PACIFIC RAILWAY. 



COACHES OF THE 



SWEETWATER DAILY STAGE LINE 

Make Direct Connections with Union Pacific Trains at 
Green River City for 

PACIFIC SPRINGS, SOUTH PASS CITY, ATLANTIC CITY, 

CAMP STAMBAUGH, MINERS' DELIGHT, 

LANDER CITY AND CAMP BROWN, 

Oa,rr37i33.gf "CTnited. States Distils staa.d. E^qpress. 



This Line also offers to Tourists the nearest practicable 
Route to the 

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

The Park is only 300 miles from Green River City, and. Coaches 
on the SWEETWATER LINE run over half the Route, making the 
distance to be traveled by coach or private conveyance 200 miles 
shorter than by any other. 

A. E. BRADBURY, S. S. HUNTLEY, 

Siipt., Green River, W. T. General Manager. 

267 



A. POLACK, 

O Hi o t s: I IE IR, , 

Next to Post Office, 

CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

L. MURRIN; 

WHOLESALE DEALEK IN 

Wines, Liquors and Cigars, 



ST. LOUIS AND MILWAUKEE BEER. 



AGENT FOR THE 



Denver Brewing Company's Lager Beer. 



SEVENTEENTH STREET, 
CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 

E. L. PEASE. J. L. ATKINSON. 

THE EVANSTON LUMBERING COMPANY, 

MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS IN 

Lumber, Lath, Siding, Shingles, Doors, 

CHAECOAL, ETC 

EVANSTON, WYOMING. 

268 



SHORTEST. SAFEST. BEST. 



THE OLD RELIABLE 



CHEYENNE AND BUCK MLS STAGE LINE. 



Sis: Horse Concord Ooaclies 



LEAVING DAILY FOR 



Deadwood, Custer, Battle Creek, 

RAPID CITY, GOLDEN, GAYVILLE, 

AND ALL OTHER MINING CAMPS IN THE HILLS. 



Close Connections with Union Pacific Trains at Cheyenne, 



This Line carries the United States Mails and Express 
Matter, and passes over the Shortest, Best Settled and 
Best Protected Route. 

First-class Eating Stations and attentive Division Agents 
add to render the Pioneer Line unequaled for Safety, 
Comfort and Speed. 

J. T. GILMER. M. T. PATRICK. 

M. SALISBURY. L. VOORHEES. 



THE QUICKEST ROUTE 

TO THE 

BLACK HILLS 

IS VIA THE 

Union Pacific Railroad 

AND 

CHEYENNE OR SIDNEY. 



If you are going direct to Deadwood, via rail and stage, the Union Pacific routes, via 
CHEYENNE or SIDNEY, are the quickest, safest and cheapest. If you desire to make 
your owu arrangements for transportation after leaving the railroad, Cheyenne or Sidney 
are still your best points of departure, since they are conceded by all to be the 

BEST OUTFITTING POINTS 

on any route. The many merchants who have located at these points with large stocks 
of goods in all lines, make the price of supplies as reasonable as in Eastern cities. These 
points, being located within easy reach of the 

CELEBRATED GRAZING DISTRICTS OF WYOMING 

afford special facilities for the purchase of horses, mules and oxen. It may be relied 
upon that to outfit at either of these points will be attended with less cost than at any 
other points advertised as outfitting posts. 

EATES ALWAYS AS LOW AS THE LOWEST. 



1st Class. 


2d Class. 


3d Clasi 


$39 25 


$33 00 


$28 00 


49 25 


38 00 


28 00 


39 25 


33 00 


28 00 


49 25 


38 CO 


28 00 



Special Notice to Gold Seekers. 

In addition to the advantages of quick time and short and comfortable stage journeys 
via the UNION PACIFIC ROUTE, the following LOW KATES of fare and arrangements 
for ticketing have been made for your accommodation: 

Chicasro to Cu«-ter City, ... - 

Chicago to Deadwood, .... - 

St. Louis to Ouster City, - - - 

St. Louis to Deadwood, - 

One hundred and fifty pounds baggage free by rail, and twenty-five to one hundred 
pounds free overland, according to route and class. 

As the through rates from Omaha to Deadwood, Custer City, and all other points in 
the Black Hills, are considerably less than the local rates by rail and stage, money will 
be saved by purchasing through tickets. 

Holders of tickets to Sidney, Cheyenne, etc., can exchange them for through tickets 
to any point in the Black Hills at the Omaha depot. 

S^°* All Black Hills tickets sold by connecting roads over the Union Pacific must be 
exchanged at the U. P. depot before passengers take the train. 

Special arrangements made for large parties. 

270 



THE 



CHICAGO TRIBUNE 



Great Advertising Medium 



OF THE NORTHWEST, 



AND THE 



Leading Republican Newspaper 



IN THE UNITED STATES. 



It is a large eight-page paper, containing Jf8 

columns, and is published every day 

in the year. 



TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. 

Daily Edition, postage paid, ... $12 00 per year. 

Tri- Weekly Edition, postage paid, - - - 6 00 " 

Weekly Edition, postage paid, - - - 1 25 " 

Sunday Edition (16 pages), postage paid, - - 2 50 " 

Rates for Advertising sent to any address on application. 
Address 

TRIBUNE CO. 

EASTERN OFFICE, 

Boom 29, Tribune Building, CHICAGO. 

nsr. -sr. citt. 

271 



FRUIT AND PRODUCE 

FORWARDING - COMMISSION 



SHIP FREIGHT CARE OF 



TD. 3D. 3333333^E333=S cSc CO.. 

CHEYENNE, "WYOMING. 

MUTUAL EXCHANGE BANK 

EVANSTON, WYOMINC. 

DO A GENERAL BANKING BUSINESS. 

CHEYENNE SUN, 

DAILY AND WEEKLY, 

The Best Newspaper in the North-west. 



FINE JOB PRINTING A SPECIALTY, 
f 



Daily, $10 00 per year. ) Address IE. A^. SLACK, 

Weekly, 2 50 " ) CHEYENNE, WYOMING. 



TERRY & HUNTER, 



FEED, SALE AND LIVERY STABLE 

16th Street, near McDaniel's Theatre. 

An extra large Barn for special use of Patrons. 

WE HAVE A FINE HEAKSE THAT WE RUN FREE. 

Metallic and Wood Burial Cases, Robes, etc. 

272 



Home Brewery 



L. KABIS, Proprietor. 



Cheyenne, Wyoming. 



JS/EcClt cLrid Hops in Stoc7i 

AND FOR SALE AT LOWEST MARKET RATES. 



^.LL OI^IDIE^S IFIROIMI^TILiTZ" FILLED. 



Wyoming and Black Hills Patronage 
especially solicited. 



Publisher's Kemarks. — A representative of this work, 
haying visited the Home Brewery in the suburbs of Cheyenne, 
can testify to the completeness of the institution. The Brew- 
ery proper is 34x50 feet and 21 feet high. Other improve- 
ments consist in part of two ice-houses with a capacity of 500 
tons, three patent iron floor cellars, aggregating a surface of 
20x105 feet, business house and warerooms 32x50 feet; the 
whole making the most complete establishment of the kind in 
Wyoming, with a capacity of 7,000 barrels of choice beer per 
annum. 

All the latest improvements have been introduced in the 
Home Brewery. 



TWELVE SPECIAL REASONS 



WHY THE 



Union Pacific Routes 



TO THE 



BLACK HILLS 

ARE THE BEST. 



1. The points of departure from the railroad are more quickly reached, 

and with fewer changes of cars, than by any other route. 

2. The Stage Lines running from these points are equipped with more 

comfortable coaches and better stock than any other lines. 

3. These are the only routes along which Telegraph Lines have been 

constructed to the Hills. 

4. These are the routes by which the U. S. Mails are carried. 

5. These are the routes used by the Government in the transportation of 

supplies for that country. 

6. These are the only routes which are open the whole year. 

7. These routes are the only ones upon which all streams are bridged and 

along which Stage Stations and Supply Depots have been estab- 
lished. . 

8. The universal use of these routes by business men, who make frequent 

trips to and from the Hills, testifies to their superiority over all 
others. 

9. Hunters, miners, old plainsmen, and all who are well acquainted 

with that country, agree as to their advantages over all other 
routes. 

10. Outfits may be procured cheaper at Omaha, Cheyenne or Sidney than 

at any other starting point for the Gold Fields. 

11. They are the quickest, safest and most comfortable routes. 

12. The rates of fare will always be as low by the Union Pacific routes as 

by any other, and taking into consideration speed and comfort, 
they are by far the cheapest. 



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